Short Interest in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Increases By 24.0%

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 74,910,000 shares, an increase of 24.0% from the December 15th total of 60,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 28,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VALE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.89.

Vale Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of VALE stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.95. The company had a trading volume of 59,294,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,449,796. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.28. Vale has a 52-week low of $8.38 and a 52-week high of $14.47.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. Vale had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 21.07%. The business had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vale by 6.3% in the 3rd 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 buying 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 in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,126,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Vale by 274.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 162,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 119,061 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its position 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 worth $23,774,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Vale during the third quarter worth approximately $1,422,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.