Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.13.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday.

Vale Price Performance

NYSE VALE opened at $9.60 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $9.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.57 billion, a PE ratio of 6.67, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $8.06 and a fifty-two week high of $13.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. Equities analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.3758 dividend. This is a positive change from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vale's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Vale by 328.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 17,349,581 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $153,891,000 after acquiring an additional 13,298,912 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 47,163,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $418,338,000 after purchasing an additional 10,557,888 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Vale by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,238,313 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $161,773,000 after buying an additional 6,023,144 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,995,398 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $301,541,000 after buying an additional 5,775,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Vale by 106.0% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 9,721,066 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $86,226,000 after buying an additional 5,001,228 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Company Profile

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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