Vale (NYSE:VALE) Price Target Raised to $16.00

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its price objective boosted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on VALE. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.50 price objective on shares of Vale in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Vale from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vale from $19.50 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.08.

Vale Price Performance

VALE stock opened at $14.22 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Vale has a 12 month low of $10.58 and a 12 month high of $17.94. The firm has a market cap of $64.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $14.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.48.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.47 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 5.11%. On average, analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.3088 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Todd Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Vale by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 6,239,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $81,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124,412 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Vale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,038,000. Qtron Investments LLC lifted its stake in Vale by 79.6% in the fourth quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 149,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after buying an additional 66,093 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,642,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 231,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,482,000 after buying an additional 124,460 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA is a Brazilian mining and logistics company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Its principal business is the production of iron ore and iron ore pellets, which are supplied to steelmakers around the world. The company also produces nickel, copper, manganese, coal and other mineral products.

Vale operates mining, processing, transportation and logistics infrastructure, including railways, ports and maritime terminals. Its operations and projects span Brazil and other jurisdictions, including Canada and Indonesia, enabling the company to serve customers in international markets.

The company was established in 1942 as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and was privatized in 1997.