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

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $9.64 and last traded at $9.73, with a volume of 8749328 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Wolfe Research lowered Vale from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Vale from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.13.

Vale Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.70 and a 200 day moving average of $10.97. The firm has a market cap of $44.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.94. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. Vale had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 22.59%. The company had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VALE. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Vale by 6.3% during the 3rd 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vale by 1,680.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 242,514 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,833,000 after buying an additional 228,890 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in Vale by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 382,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,463,000 after buying an additional 94,585 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 109.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 101,406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 52,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Vale by 395.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,152,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,889,000 after acquiring an additional 5,707,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.