Vale (NYSE:VALE) Given New $16.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on Vale from $17.00 to $16.00 and maintained an "equal weight" rating, implying roughly a 1.5% downside from the then-current share price.
• Vale slightly missed Q1 estimates with EPS of $0.44 versus the $0.46 consensus and revenue of $9.26B versus $9.33B, while the stock traded around $16.25 (up about 2.5%).
• Insiders increased holdings: Parenti Grazielle Tallia bought 10,464 shares and VP Sobrinho Sami Arap bought 12,990 shares at about $16.11, indicating insider buying despite the earnings miss.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $17.00 to $16.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential downside of 1.51% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on VALE. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vale from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Vale from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $15.50 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vale from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $15.95.

Vale Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:VALE traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $16.25. The company had a trading volume of 5,448,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,978,875. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Vale has a one year low of $8.97 and a one year high of $17.94. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $16.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99 and a beta of 0.53.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.02). Vale had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 20.16%. The business had revenue of $9.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.33 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Vale will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vale

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 72,358 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $943,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 38,134 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 66,870 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 17,350 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Company Profile

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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