Vale (NYSE:VALE) Rating Lowered to Sector Perform at Royal Bank Of Canada

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was downgraded by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report issued on Thursday. They presently have a $15.50 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 1.00% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $16.50 price objective on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.56.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of Vale stock opened at $15.35 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.12. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $8.06 and a fifty-two week high of $17.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a return on equity of 20.16% and a net margin of 6.12%. On average, analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 4.9% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Vale by 46.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 37,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 11,964 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Vale in the first quarter worth about $171,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Vale in the first quarter worth about $117,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the second quarter worth approximately $123,000. 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.