Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 77,090,000 shares, a growth of 37.2% from the September 30th total of 56,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 32,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 32,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Vale Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE VALE traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $11.96. The company had a trading volume of 51,368,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,882,195. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $8.06 and a fifty-two week high of $12.24. The company has a market capitalization of $54.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.94 and its 200 day moving average is $10.13.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. Vale had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 14.23%.The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.39 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the first quarter valued at about $371,778,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in shares of Vale by 165.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vale by 1,534.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 31.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 5.3% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 20,080,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $194,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,588 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised Vale from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HSBC boosted their price target on Vale from $12.25 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Vale from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Vale from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.55.

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.