Vale S.A. (VALE) – What Are Analysts Thinking About This Stock?

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.96.

VALE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective (down from $18.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vale from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Vale from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Vale from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new position in shares of Vale during the 2nd quarter worth about $56,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Vale during the 1st quarter valued at $83,000. Quartz Partners LLC bought a new position in Vale in the 1st quarter valued at $161,000. Keybank National Association OH bought a new stake in Vale during the 1st quarter valued at about $162,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vale in the 1st quarter valued at about $168,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vale Stock Performance

NYSE VALE opened at $13.63 on Wednesday. Vale has a 52-week low of $10.71 and a 52-week high of $17.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $61.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $14.44 and a 200-day moving average of $15.32.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.47 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 5.11%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vale will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a $0.3088 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

About Vale

Vale SA is a Brazil-based global mining company and one of the world’s major producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets, which are used primarily in steelmaking. The company also produces nickel, copper, manganese, coal and other mineral products, serving customers in the steel, energy and technology industries.

Founded in 1942 as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, the company was privatized in 1997 and adopted the Vale name in 2007. Its operations are concentrated in Brazil, particularly in the states of Pará and Minas Gerais, while its base-metals business has mining and processing activities in countries including Canada and Indonesia.

Vale also operates an integrated logistics system that includes railways, ports and maritime transportation infrastructure used to move its products from mining regions to domestic and international markets.