Vale (NYSE:VALE) Given New $16.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS raised its price target on Vale from $12.00 to $16.00 while maintaining a "neutral" rating, implying roughly a 5.65% upside from the current price.
• Analyst views are mixed—several firms (JPMorgan, Barclays, Bank of America) have lifted targets into the $16.50–$18.00 range while the consensus sits at a Moderate Buy with an average target of $15.18.
• Vale traded at $15.15 (up 1.3%) and reported a Q4 EPS of ($0.90), a significant miss versus the $0.52 consensus, although revenue slightly beat estimates.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $12.00 to $16.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. UBS Group's target price indicates a potential upside of 5.65% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered Vale from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Vale from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America downgraded Vale from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $17.00 to $18.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.18.

Vale Stock Up 1.3%

VALE traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.15. 7,585,533 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,660,559. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $15.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.45. Vale has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $17.72. The stock has a market cap of $68.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06 and a beta of 0.52.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($1.42). The firm had revenue of $11.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.86 billion. Vale had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 20.16%. Equities analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VALE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Vale by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL raised its position in shares of Vale by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 72,358 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Vale by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 38,134 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 66,870 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Vale by 5.4% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 17,350 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 885 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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