Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Price

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its target price raised by research analysts at Barclays from $15.50 to $16.50 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 2.11% from the stock’s previous close.

VALE has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Vale from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $14.20 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Bank of America lowered shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Vale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.46.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of Vale stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Monday, reaching $16.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,035,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,654,547. Vale has a one year low of $8.06 and a one year high of $17.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $76.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $15.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.81.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 20.16%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Vale by 2,239.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,596,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $541,996,000 after buying an additional 39,818,066 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,322,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,163,896,000 after acquiring an additional 32,864,929 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 1,534.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,810,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $240,908,000 after purchasing an additional 23,292,629 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 65,132,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $848,677,000 after purchasing an additional 19,397,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter worth about $123,532,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.