Vale (NYSE:VALE) Raised to “Hold” at UBS Group

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on VALE. Scotiabank lowered 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vale from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $16.50 price target (down from $19.50) on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.04.

Vale Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:VALE opened at $13.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.37. Vale has a 52-week low of $10.71 and a 52-week high of $17.94. The company has a market cap of $60.97 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.10). Vale had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.47 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vale will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna raised its position in Vale by 128.3% during the fourth quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna now owns 2,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the 1st quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, Quartz Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vale in the 1st quarter valued at about $161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

About Vale

Vale SA is a Brazil-based global mining company and one of the world’s major producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets, which are used primarily in steelmaking. The company also produces nickel, copper, manganese, coal and other mineral products, serving customers in the steel, energy and technology industries.

Founded in 1942 as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, the company was privatized in 1997 and adopted the Vale name in 2007. Its operations are concentrated in Brazil, particularly in the states of Pará and Minas Gerais, while its base-metals business has mining and processing activities in countries including Canada and Indonesia.

Vale also operates an integrated logistics system that includes railways, ports and maritime transportation infrastructure used to move its products from mining regions to domestic and international markets.