Vale's (VALE) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America reiterated its “neutral” rating on Vale and lowered its price target from $18.00 to $16.00, implying approximately 7.71% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Vale has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.96, with most analysts maintaining hold or equal-weight ratings.
• Vale’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, reporting $0.36 in earnings per share versus a $0.46 consensus estimate and revenue of $10.24 billion versus $10.47 billion expected.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reissued by stock analysts at Bank of America in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $16.00 price target on the basic materials company's stock, down from their prior price target of $18.00. Bank of America's price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.71% from the stock's previous close.

VALE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.96.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE opened at $14.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Vale has a 52-week low of $9.67 and a 52-week high of $17.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.84. The company has a market capitalization of $67.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32 and a beta of 0.47.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.10). Vale had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 5.11%.The company had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.47 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Vale will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 20,809,302 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $271,145,000 after acquiring an additional 9,103,727 shares during the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Vale by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 6,239,516 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $81,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124,412 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,038,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Vale by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,603,391 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $20,892,000 after purchasing an additional 568,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter valued at about $906,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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