Vale (NYSE:VALE) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $8.42 and last traded at $8.50, with a volume of 25881252 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on VALE. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group downgraded 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 research report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.89.

Vale Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.36. The company has a market capitalization of $38.15 billion, a PE ratio of 3.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $9.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.61 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 22.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vale during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Vienna Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vale in the 3rd quarter worth about $117,000. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC purchased a new position in Vale during the third quarter worth approximately $118,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.