Vale (NYSE:VALE) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Vale (NYSE:VALE) from "hold" to "buy," adding to bullish analyst action (e.g., Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $18) and leaving a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with an average target of $15.95.
• Vale missed Q1 estimates, reporting EPS of $0.44 versus $0.52 expected and revenue of $9.26B versus $9.53B, while trading around $16.16 with a market cap of $73.35B and a 52‑week range of $8.97–$17.94.
• Both insiders and institutions increased exposure: two executives bought shares at about $16.11 each, and large funds (Arrowstreet, Capital World Investors, GQG, Assenagon) substantially grew their positions, signaling notable accumulation.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vale from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Vale from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Vale in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Vale from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $15.95.

Vale Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $16.16 on Friday. Vale has a 52 week low of $8.97 and a 52 week high of $17.94. 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 company has a market capitalization of $73.35 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.50.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). Vale had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 7.21%.The company had revenue of $9.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.53 billion. Analysts forecast that Vale will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sobrinho Sami Arap purchased 12,990 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $209,268.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 12,990 shares in the company, valued at $209,268.90. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Parenti Grazielle Tallia purchased 10,464 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.11 per share, with a total value of $168,575.04. Following the purchase, the insider owned 10,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,575.04. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information.

Institutional Trading of Vale

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Vale by 2,239.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,596,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $541,996,000 after buying an additional 39,818,066 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Vale by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,322,261 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,163,896,000 after acquiring an additional 32,864,929 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 65,132,572 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $848,677,000 after acquiring an additional 19,397,396 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Vale by 15,202.2% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,663,641 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $249,209,000 after acquiring an additional 15,561,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $123,532,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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