Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Rating Lowered by Bank of America

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $18.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $17.00. Bank of America‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.80% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on VALE. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vale from $14.50 to $15.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of 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 note on Wednesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price target on Vale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.38.

Vale Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of VALE stock opened at $17.18 on Thursday. Vale has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $17.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.34 and a 200 day moving average of $12.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) EPS 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, equities research analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vale by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 79,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 3,704 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Vale by 46.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 37,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 11,964 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Vale during the 1st quarter valued at about $171,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Vale in the 1st quarter valued at about $117,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $123,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.