Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.04.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VALE shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, May 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $11.30 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $11.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Thursday, April 17th.

Vale Stock Performance

NYSE VALE opened at $9.06 on Thursday. Vale has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $12.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $41.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.57, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.37.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). Vale had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Vale by 206.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Vale during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Vale by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Vale during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vale by 193.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.