Vale (NYSE:VALE) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

VALE has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vale from $14.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “cautious” rating and set a $15.50 price target on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Vale from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $14.20 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.88.

Vale Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $16.69 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.53. Vale has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $17.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a return on equity of 20.16% and a net margin of 6.12%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Vale by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,322,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,163,896,000 after buying an additional 32,864,929 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Vale by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 65,132,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $848,677,000 after acquiring an additional 19,397,396 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Vale by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 46,215,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $501,715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,266 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Vale by 2,239.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,596,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $541,996,000 after acquiring an additional 39,818,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Vale by 16.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 28,961,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $314,526,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,563 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.