Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.91.

Several research firms recently weighed in on VALE. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Saturday, March 30th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Vale from $18.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vale by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 491,207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,791,000 after purchasing an additional 225,806 shares in the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Vale by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 9,399,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $149,082,000 after acquiring an additional 705,520 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Vale by 49,161.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,440,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,705,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435,459 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter valued at $190,000. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Stock Performance

VALE stock opened at $11.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $52.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Vale has a 12-month low of $10.99 and a 12-month high of $16.08.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). Vale had a return on equity of 19.59% and a net margin of 18.72%. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vale will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

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.