Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Rating Raised to Hold at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group upgraded Vale to “Hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with 12 Hold, two Buy, one Strong Buy and one Sell rating. The consensus price target is $16.04.
• Vale shares opened at $13.43, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The stock has traded between $10.71 and $17.94 over the past year.
• Vale’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with earnings of $0.36 per share versus the $0.46 consensus and revenue of $10.24 billion versus estimates of $10.47 billion. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s shares.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on VALE. Barclays upped their price objective on Vale from $16.75 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Vale from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $16.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vale currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.04.

Vale Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of VALE opened at $13.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Vale has a one year low of $10.71 and a one year high of $17.94. The company has a market cap of $60.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41 and a beta of 0.49.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.10). Vale had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.47 billion. Research analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Vale by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,322,261 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,163,896,000 after acquiring an additional 32,864,929 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Vale by 15.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 47,947,703 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $762,848,000 after acquiring an additional 6,351,703 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 5.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,685,915 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $376,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205,280 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 119.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,837,416 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $347,433,000 after acquiring an additional 11,905,247 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Vale by 15,202.2% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,663,641 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $249,209,000 after acquiring an additional 15,561,279 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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