Vale's (VALE) "Sell (D+)" Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reiterated Vale's stock rating as "Sell (D+)", indicating ongoing concerns about the company's performance.
• Despite the negative outlook from Weiss, other analysts have given more favorable ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.13.
• Vale's stock is currently down 0.1%, trading at $11.45, with a recent trading volume of 16,048,291 shares.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d+)" rating reaffirmed by Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented 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 on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays increased their target price on Vale from $13.70 to $13.80 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Vale to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Clarkson Capital began coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Vale from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.13.

Vale Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:VALE traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $11.45. The company had a trading volume of 16,048,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,683,082. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $10.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.96. Vale has a 12-month low of $8.06 and a 12-month high of $11.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VALE. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale during the first quarter worth about $371,778,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Vale by 1,534.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,810,285 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $240,908,000 after acquiring an additional 23,292,629 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in shares of Vale by 165.9% in the 1st quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 31,257,989 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $311,955,000 after purchasing an additional 19,500,437 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 31.8% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,705,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $210,758,000 after purchasing an additional 5,234,201 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Vale by 38.0% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,932,405 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $159,005,000 after purchasing an additional 4,389,959 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.