Vale Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:VALE)

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 147,090 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 59% compared to the typical daily volume of 92,775 put options.

Vale Trading Down 2.2%

VALE traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $12.94. 24,103,853 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,054,301. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.57. Vale has a one year low of $8.06 and a one year high of $13.62. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14. Vale had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 14.69%.The company had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.39 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.2331 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VALE shares. Wall Street Zen cut Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Clarkson Capital started coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Vale from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $14.20 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Vale from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Vale from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.04.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Vale by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new position in Vale in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 98.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,021 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA is a Brazilian multinational mining company and one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets. In addition to iron ore, the company produces and sells a range of bulk commodities and metals, including nickel, copper, coal, manganese, ferroalloys and cobalt, and it participates in the fertilizer inputs market. Vale also operates extensive logistics assets — including rail, port and maritime logistics — that support its mining and export activities and provide services to third parties in some regions.

Headquartered in Brazil, Vale maintains a global operational footprint with mining, processing and shipping activities across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.