Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Short Interest Down 15.0% in February

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 113,190,000 shares, a decrease of 15.0% from the February 13th total of 133,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 34,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Vale Stock Performance

Vale stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.08. 35,048,311 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,454,537. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $8.38 and a fifty-two week high of $13.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.73 billion, a PE ratio of 7.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.90. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $10.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.03 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

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Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.3758 dividend. This is an increase from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a yield of 7.5%. Vale's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Vale in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 215.9% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Vale by 206.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Vale by 3,092.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,092 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VALE. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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. StockNews.com downgraded Vale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Vale from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.26.

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.