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

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 3,656,520 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 7,984% compared to the average volume of 45,233 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Vale from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price target on Vale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Vale from $13.80 to $14.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.96.

Vale Price Performance

NYSE VALE traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $13.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 37,811,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,479,684. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Vale has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $13.62. The company has a market capitalization of $60.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Vale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.2331 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Vale’s payout ratio is currently 56.15%.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Vale by 59.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 97,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 36,372 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Vale by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 529,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,019,000 after acquiring an additional 55,543 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 37.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,463,665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,608,000 after purchasing an additional 401,614 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Vale by 197.2% in the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 59,968 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 39,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Vale by 25.9% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 34,185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% 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.