Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Vale S.A. has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from 15 covering firms, with eight holds, six buys, and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is about $16.31.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed: JPMorgan raised its target to $21 and kept an overweight rating, while Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo both maintained more cautious views and lowered price targets.
• Vale’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, with EPS of $0.44 versus $0.52 expected and revenue of $9.26 billion versus $9.53 billion expected. The stock was trading at $14.81, below its 52-week high of $17.94.

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.3077.

VALE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vale from $19.50 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $16.50 price objective (down from $19.50) on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Vale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 128.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna now owns 2,055 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in Vale by 15,360.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 3,072 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:VALE opened at $14.81 on Friday. Vale has a 52 week low of $9.36 and a 52 week high of $17.94. The stock's fifty day moving average is $15.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.08). Vale had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 21.10%. The firm had revenue of $9.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.53 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

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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