Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Price Up 0.5%

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) rose 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $11.14 and last traded at $11.12. Approximately 7,501,750 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 26,420,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VALE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Vale from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.17.

Vale Trading Up 0.8 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.45. The company has a market capitalization of $50.03 billion, a PE ratio of 6.13, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Vale had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 22.23%. The firm had revenue of $9.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.97 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.3698 per share. This is a boost from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.32. This represents a dividend yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Vale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.09%.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Vale during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vale during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vale by 16,947.4% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,239 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 3,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its stake in Vale by 111.1% in the first quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 3,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 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.