Vale (NYSE:VALE) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VALE. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Vale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Vale from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Vale from $14.50 to $15.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank lowered shares of Vale from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.21.

Vale Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $14.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $63.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.77 and its 200-day moving average is $11.22. Vale has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $14.38. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.39 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 14.69%. Equities research analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.2331 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.23%.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 79,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 3,704 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 46.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 37,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 11,964 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vale during the first quarter worth $171,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. increased its stake in shares of Vale by 15.3% in the first quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 18,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 2,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Vale in the first quarter valued at about $117,000. 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.