Short Interest in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Decreases By 15.0%

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 113,190,000 shares, a decline of 15.0% from the February 13th total of 133,120,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 34,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Vale Stock Up 0.2 %

VALE opened at $10.21 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. 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 has a 12 month low of $8.38 and a 12 month high of $13.14.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced 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 company had revenue of $10.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.03 billion. Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3758 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. This is an increase from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VALE shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vale presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Vale by 3,692.5% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 18,200,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $212,576,000 after purchasing an additional 17,720,100 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Vale by 328.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,349,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $153,891,000 after acquiring an additional 13,298,912 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 47,163,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $418,338,000 after purchasing an additional 10,557,888 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at approximately $80,300,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Vale by 123.4% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 12,059,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,859,000 after purchasing an additional 6,660,933 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.