JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Vale (NYSE:VALE) Price Target to $21.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target on Vale from $19.50 to $21.00 and maintained an overweight rating, implying about 34.48% upside from the current share price.
• Several other analysts have also turned more positive on Vale recently, including price target increases from Scotiabank, Barclays, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley. The stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $16.77.
• Vale shares were trading at $15.62 on Friday, and the company recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.44 per share, missing analyst expectations of $0.52 per share on revenue of $9.26 billion.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $19.50 to $21.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target suggests a potential upside of 34.48% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vale from $16.50 to $18.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America upgraded Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Vale from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $14.50 to $15.50 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Vale from $18.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.77.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of VALE stock traded up $0.26 on Friday, reaching $15.62. The company had a trading volume of 5,414,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,894,346. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36 and a beta of 0.46. Vale has a one year low of $8.97 and a one year high of $17.94. The business's 50-day moving average is $16.52 and its 200 day moving average is $15.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $9.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.53 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 21.10% and a net margin of 7.21%. Equities research analysts forecast that Vale will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sobrinho Sami Arap bought 12,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $209,268.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 12,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,268.90. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parenti Grazielle Tallia acquired 10,464 shares of Vale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $168,575.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,575.04. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vale by 68.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 29,117 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 11,865 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Vale by 119.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,837,416 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $347,433,000 after buying an additional 11,905,247 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 58.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,763,906 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,065,000 after purchasing an additional 648,407 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 8.6% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 82,860 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 6,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Vale by 10.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,760,917 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,016,000 after acquiring an additional 162,387 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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