Vale's (VALE) Neutral Rating Reiterated at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised the target price for Vale (NYSE:VALE) from $9.00 to $10.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock, which suggests a potential upside of 1.97% from the previous close.
• Other analysts have also updated their ratings, with Bank of America raising its target to $11.50 and Barclays increasing theirs to $13.00, while Scotiabank lowered its target to $12.50.
• Vale currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with an average price target of $11.84 and reported earnings of $0.50 per share that beat expectations.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at UBS Group in a research note issued to investors on Monday, August 4th, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $10.00 price target on the basic materials company's stock, up from their previous price target of $9.00. UBS Group's price objective indicates a potential downside of 2.15% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VALE. CICC Research started coverage on Vale in a research note on Monday, May 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Vale in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Bank of America raised Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Vale from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $11.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vale presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.84.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE stock opened at $10.22 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.39 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Vale has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $12.05.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 14.23%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Vale by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,935 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Vale by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 23,597 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Vale by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 25,876 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vale by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,181 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in Vale by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 61,364 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vale

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.