Vale (NYSE:VALE) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $9.28 and last traded at $9.29, with a volume of 2049706 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VALE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group downgraded Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $14.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a research note on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One investment 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 MarketBeat, Vale currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.38.

Vale Stock Down 2.2 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.72. The stock has a market cap of $41.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.91.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VALE. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,627 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vale by 6.9% in the second quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 17,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Vale by 1.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 62,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Vale by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 22,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Vale by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 28,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the period. 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.