Vale (NYSE:VALE) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research has downgraded Vale's rating from "hold" to "strong sell", indicating a significant decline in confidence among analysts.
• The current average rating for Vale is "Hold," with six analysts rating it as "Buy" and one assigning a "Sell" rating.
• Despite the downgrade, Vale's stock has a market cap of $47.68 billion with a current price around $10.51 and a 12-month high of $12.05.

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, September 9th,Zacks.com reports.

VALE has been the topic of several other reports. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, May 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $13.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price objective (up from $9.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.71.

Vale Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:VALE traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,589,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,883,039. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.08 and a 200-day moving average of $9.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Vale has a 12-month low of $8.06 and a 12-month high of $12.05.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. Vale had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 18.14%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $0.3417 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 740.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Vale's dividend payout ratio is 59.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VALE. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $371,778,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 1,534.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,810,285 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $240,908,000 after purchasing an additional 23,292,629 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 165.9% in the 1st quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 31,257,989 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $311,955,000 after purchasing an additional 19,500,437 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Vale by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,705,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $210,758,000 after acquiring an additional 5,234,201 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Vale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,775,000. 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.