Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Vale from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.75.

Vale Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $13.01 on Monday. Vale has a 1 year low of $11.23 and a 1 year high of $17.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average is $14.22 and its 200 day moving average is $15.22.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.10). Vale had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.47 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Vale will post 1.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VALE. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 47,947,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $762,848,000 after acquiring an additional 6,351,703 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vale by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,685,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $376,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205,280 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Vale by 119.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,837,416 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $347,433,000 after purchasing an additional 11,905,247 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Vale by 15,202.2% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,663,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,209,000 after purchasing an additional 15,561,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Vale by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 14,053,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $223,589,000 after buying an additional 3,012,700 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA is a Brazil-based global mining and logistics company best known for producing iron ore and iron ore pellets, key raw materials used in steelmaking. The company also produces nickel, copper, manganese ore, coal and other mineral products, with operations spanning exploration, extraction, processing and transportation.

Vale operates an extensive logistics network that includes railways, ports and maritime transportation systems, primarily supporting the movement of minerals from its production sites to domestic and international customers.