Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $13.3750.

Several research firms recently commented on VALE. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vale from $14.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $11.50 target price on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Vale from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Vale to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Vale from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Vale Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Vale stock opened at $16.92 on Friday. Vale has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $17.34. The company has a market cap of $76.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.79.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.39 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 14.69%. As a group, analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.2331 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Vale’s payout ratio is presently 67.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Vale by 60.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new position in shares of Vale in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Vale by 98.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.