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

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.38.

VALE has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group downgraded Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,951,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,868,000 after purchasing an additional 468,432 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Vale during the third quarter valued at about $1,126,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Vale by 274.4% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 162,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 119,061 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 723.2% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,035,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,774,000 after buying an additional 1,788,205 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the third quarter worth about $1,422,000. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VALE opened at $8.94 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a PE ratio of 4.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Vale has a twelve month low of $8.69 and a twelve month high of $16.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.58.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.61 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 22.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vale will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

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.