Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Price Target Cut by Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut Vale’s price target from $15.00 to $13.00 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying roughly 16.95% upside from the stock’s $11.12 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Vale has an average “Hold” rating and a $14.96 target price, with recent downgrades from Bank of America, Zacks Research, Weiss Ratings and UBS Group.
• Vale shares fell 2.0% to $11.12, near their 52-week low, after the company reported quarterly earnings of $0.29 per share—below the $0.38 consensus estimate—despite revenue of $10.60 billion exceeding expectations.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $15.00 to $13.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price indicates a potential upside of 16.95% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on VALE. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vale from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America downgraded shares of Vale from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vale from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $15.50 price target on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $14.50 to $13.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.96.

Vale Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of VALE stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.12. 7,497,394 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,418,752. The stock has a market cap of $50.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.23 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.23. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $11.06 and a fifty-two week high of $17.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.09). Vale had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 5.11%. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.45 billion. Equities analysts expect that Vale will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in Vale during the 3rd quarter worth $971,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 60,875 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 4,880 shares during the last quarter. Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 13.6% during the third quarter. Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC now owns 37,153 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 4,456 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 7.3% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 63,382 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 4,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the third quarter worth $2,284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company's stock.

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.

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