Vale (NYSE:VALE) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion.

Vale Stock Performance

VALE stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,037,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,472,754. The stock has a market cap of $43.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.66, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. Vale has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $13.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $9.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.61.

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 paid a $0.3758 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. This is a positive change from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $11.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vale presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.13.

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.