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 Friday . The stock traded as low as $8.66 and last traded at $8.69, with a volume of 5662268 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VALE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group cut shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $11.50 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of 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, Wolfe Research cut shares of Vale from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.38.

Vale Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.00, 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 posted 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 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 12.9% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 748,487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,361,000 after purchasing an additional 85,549 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Vale by 14.9% during the second quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 12,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 1,624 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 10.5% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 253,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,830,000 after buying an additional 24,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Vale by 1,079.6% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,575,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,645,000 after buying an additional 1,442,063 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vale

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.