Vale (NYSE:VALE) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Hold Rating

Key Points

• Vale has been upgraded to a "hold" rating by Wells Fargo & Company, indicating a shift in analysts' perspectives on the stock.
• Another notable upgrade came from Scotiabank, raising Vale's rating to "sector outperform" with a price target of $14.00.
• As of Wednesday, Vale's stock price opened at $11.03 and has a 52-week high of $11.33, showing some volatility in its trading range.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Vale from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $13.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vale from $13.50 to $13.70 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Vale from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.95.

Vale Stock Down 0.6%

VALE opened at $11.03 on Wednesday. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $8.06 and a fifty-two week high of $11.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Institutional Trading of Vale

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Vale during the 1st quarter valued at about $228,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Vale by 193.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Vale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,954 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Vale by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,463,665 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,608,000 after acquiring an additional 401,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Vale by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,522 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 6,261 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

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.

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