Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives $14.56 Consensus PT from Analysts

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.5615.

VALE has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Bank of America cut Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “cautious” rating and set a $15.50 price target on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Vale Trading Up 5.3%

NYSE VALE opened at $14.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.15. Vale has a one year low of $8.06 and a one year high of $17.72. The firm has a market cap of $67.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 0.52.

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). The business had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.86 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 20.16% and a net margin of 6.12%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Vale by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,216,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,890,000 after purchasing an additional 133,229 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Vale by 115.2% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 33,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 17,955 shares in the last quarter. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vale in the 4th quarter valued at $261,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of Vale by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 16,509 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter worth $280,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

About Vale

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.