Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Price

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $17.00 to $16.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential downside of 0.98% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $15.50 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Bank of America raised shares of Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.95.

Vale Stock Performance

Vale stock opened at $16.16 on Thursday. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $8.97 and a fifty-two week high of $17.94. The company has a market capitalization of $73.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $9.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.53 billion. Vale had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 20.90%. On average, analysts anticipate that Vale will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vale

In other Vale news, VP Sobrinho Sami Arap purchased 12,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $209,268.90. Following the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 12,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,268.90. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Parenti Grazielle Tallia purchased 10,464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.11 per share, with a total value of $168,575.04. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 10,464 shares in the company, valued at $168,575.04. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Vale by 3.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 39,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 112,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,796,000 after buying an additional 27,200 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vale by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 86,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after buying an additional 7,827 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 249,816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,975,000 after buying an additional 50,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cvfg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the 1st quarter worth $512,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.