Vale (NYSE:VALE) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $8.69 and last traded at $8.74, with a volume of 40966234 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VALE. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded Vale from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Vale from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vale has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.38.

Vale Stock Up 1.4 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.11 and a 200 day moving average of $10.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.91.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $9.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.61 billion. Vale had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 21.07%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Vale by 18.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 36,605,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $427,550,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635,167 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its position in shares of Vale by 60.6% during the 2nd quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 21,969,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $245,404,000 after buying an additional 8,288,112 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Vale by 3,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 18,200,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $212,576,000 after acquiring an additional 17,720,100 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,404,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $203,290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,544 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Vale by 123.4% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 12,059,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,859,000 after acquiring an additional 6,660,933 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.