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

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.2083.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vale from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. HSBC boosted their price target on Vale from $12.25 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Vale to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th.

Vale Price Performance

VALE opened at $13.98 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.80 and a 200 day moving average of $11.29. The stock has a market cap of $63.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Vale has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $14.38.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.39 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 14.69%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.2331 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.23%.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VALE. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in Vale during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Vale by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new position in shares of Vale during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Vale during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 98.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vale Company Profile

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.