Vale (NYSE:VALE) Cut to “Underperform” at Wolfe Research

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was downgraded by research analysts at Wolfe Research from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

VALE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.17.

Vale Price Performance

Vale stock opened at $11.06 on Wednesday. Vale has a one year low of $9.66 and a one year high of $16.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $49.56 billion, a PE ratio of 6.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.93.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.97 billion. Vale had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 22.23%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vale will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VALE. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its stake in Vale by 60.6% in the second quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 21,969,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $245,404,000 after purchasing an additional 8,288,112 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Vale by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,315,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $195,319,000 after acquiring an additional 2,224,756 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Vale by 4.1% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,269,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $149,561,000 after purchasing an additional 485,702 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 27.8% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,853,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $132,408,000 after buying an additional 2,578,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 10,950,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $118,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854,940 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.