JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Vale (NYSE:VALE) Price Target to $13.50

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reduced its price target for Vale from $15.00 to $13.50, while maintaining an "overweight" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 32.55% from the stock's previous close.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts have varying ratings for Vale, with six rating it a "Buy" and five a "Hold," resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.71.
• Vale's stock was trading at $10.19, reflecting a slight decline of 0.2%, with a recent earnings report showing earnings per share of $0.50, exceeding expectations.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $15.00 to $13.50 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, May 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.00 target price (up previously from $9.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Vale from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.71.

Vale Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Vale stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $10.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 25,995,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,093,868. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $10.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.69. Vale has a one year low of $8.06 and a one year high of $12.05. The company has a market capitalization of $47.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 0.79.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.54 billion. Vale had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 18.14%. On average, research analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.3417 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a yield of 740.0%. Vale's dividend payout ratio is 58.54%.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new position in Vale in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Vale by 98.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Vale in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Vale by 193.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.