Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.67.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VALE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Saturday, March 30th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Vale by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 30,283 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 14,010 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Vale by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vale by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,673 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Vale by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,277 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE remained flat at $12.56 on Wednesday. 27,617,345 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,169,057. Vale has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $16.08. The company has a market cap of $56.31 billion, a PE ratio of 6.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's fifty day moving average is $12.31 and its 200 day moving average is $13.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.48). The business had revenue of $13.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.95 billion. Vale had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 19.59%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.3182 dividend. This represents a yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Vale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.19%.

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.