Barclays Boosts VALE (NYSE:VALE) Price Target to $13.00

VALE (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $12.75 to $13.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on VALE. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of VALE from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on VALE in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. CICC Research initiated coverage on VALE in a report on Monday, May 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $11.00 price objective (down previously from $12.00) on shares of VALE in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of VALE from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.79.

VALE Stock Performance

VALE stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.27. 109,592,108 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 32,591,359. The firm has a market cap of $46.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $9.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.37. VALE has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $12.05.

VALE (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. VALE had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 17.65%. Equities analysts predict that VALE will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VALE

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of VALE by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in VALE by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,954 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 2,707 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of VALE by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 33,704 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 5,189 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of VALE by 164.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 148,857 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 92,570 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of VALE by 44.4% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 20,847 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 6,412 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VALE Company Profile

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.