Vale (NYSE:VALE) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

VALE has been the topic of several other reports. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Vale from $12.25 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price target on shares of Vale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $11.50 price objective on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.04.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE stock opened at $12.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.57. Vale has a one year low of $8.06 and a one year high of $13.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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

Vale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.2331 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Vale by 60.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new position in Vale during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Vale during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 98.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA is a Brazilian multinational mining company and one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets. In addition to iron ore, the company produces and sells a range of bulk commodities and metals, including nickel, copper, coal, manganese, ferroalloys and cobalt, and it participates in the fertilizer inputs market. Vale also operates extensive logistics assets — including rail, port and maritime logistics — that support its mining and export activities and provide services to third parties in some regions.

Headquartered in Brazil, Vale maintains a global operational footprint with mining, processing and shipping activities across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.