Vale (NYSE:VALE) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $8.42 and last traded at $8.50, with a volume of 25881252 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VALE. UBS Group downgraded shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $14.00 to $11.50 in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.89.

Vale Stock Up 0.1 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.36. The firm has a market cap of $38.15 billion, a PE ratio of 3.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $9.55 billion during 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VALE. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Vale by 6.3% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,951,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $92,868,000 after purchasing an additional 468,432 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,126,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Vale by 274.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 162,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 119,061 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in Vale by 723.2% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,035,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,774,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Vale in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,422,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.