Vale Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:VALE)

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 684,410 call options on the company. This is an increase of 913% compared to the typical volume of 67,589 call options.

Vale Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of VALE traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.91. 24,184,970 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,209,893. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $71.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.60 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.70 and its 200-day moving average is $13.67. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $12.22 and a fifty-two week high of $19.31.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $10.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.52 billion. Vale had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 23.82%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be given a $0.1541 dividend. This represents a yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 22nd. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Vale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. Citigroup upgraded Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $16.00 in a report on Monday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. UBS Group upgraded Vale from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.23.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its position in shares of Vale by 125.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 24,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,600 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vale by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,446 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of Vale by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 30,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 6,829 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Vale by 55.5% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 151,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 54,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the 1st quarter valued at about $277,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.90% 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.