Vale Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:VALE)

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 66,593 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 122% compared to the typical daily volume of 30,022 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VALE. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 target price (up from $9.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Vale from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Clarkson Capital began coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vale from $15.00 to $13.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.71.

Vale Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $10.35 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $46.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Vale has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $12.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.69.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 14.23%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3417 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 740.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in Vale in the first quarter valued at about $371,778,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Vale by 1,534.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,810,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $240,908,000 after acquiring an additional 23,292,629 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in Vale by 165.9% in the first quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 31,257,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $311,955,000 after acquiring an additional 19,500,437 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vale by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,238,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,773,000 after acquiring an additional 6,023,144 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vale by 31.8% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,705,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $210,758,000 after acquiring an additional 5,234,201 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.