Bank of America Reiterates Neutral Rating for Vale (NYSE:VALE)

Vale (NYSE:VALE)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Bank of America in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $16.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $18.00. Bank of America‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.71% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on VALE. Zacks Research lowered Vale from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on Vale from $16.75 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $16.50 price objective (down from $19.50) on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.96.

Vale Trading Up 1.9%

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

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.10). Vale had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 5.11%.The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.47 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Vale during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna raised its holdings in shares of Vale by 128.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna now owns 2,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 15,360.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 3,072 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.