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

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $8.69 and last traded at $8.74, with a volume of 40966234 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research lowered Vale from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.38.

Vale Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $92,868,000 after purchasing an additional 468,432 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Vale by 274.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in Vale by 723.2% during the 3rd 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. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Vale during the 3rd quarter worth $1,422,000. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 469,036 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,478,000 after acquiring an additional 70,278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.