Vale (NYSE:VALE) Price Target Raised to $18.00

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $17.50 to $18.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $15.50 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $16.50 price target on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.18.

Vale Price Performance

VALE stock opened at $15.03 on Thursday. 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 has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $17.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.95 and a 200 day moving average of $13.50. The company has a market cap of $68.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83 and a beta of 0.52.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 20.16%. The firm had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.86 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VALE. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna increased its stake in Vale by 128.3% during the 4th quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna now owns 2,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Vale by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Vale in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Vale in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.