Barclays Lowers Vale (NYSE:VALE) Price Target to $15.25

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Barclays from $16.00 to $15.25 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 58.36% from the company’s previous close.

VALE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com began coverage on Vale in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wolfe Research lowered Vale from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group lowered Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.91.

Vale Stock Performance

NYSE:VALE opened at $9.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $43.17 billion, a PE ratio of 4.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.91. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $9.42 and a fifty-two week high of $16.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.86.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.61 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 22.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Vale will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VALE. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Vale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 701,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,783,000 after buying an additional 8,489 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,410 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,520,000 after buying an additional 35,183 shares in the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Vale in the 3rd quarter worth about $182,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 89.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 9,161 shares during the period. 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.