JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its target price upped by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $17.50 to $18.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.80% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on VALE. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $16.50 target price on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “cautious” rating and set a $15.50 price target on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.18.

Vale Stock Performance

Vale stock opened at $15.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Vale has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $17.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.48. The company has a market cap of $68.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83 and a beta of 0.52.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a return on equity of 20.16% and a net margin of 6.12%.The business had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.86 billion. Research analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VALE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,754,000. Advisory Resource Group bought a new stake in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,434,000. Ninety One North America Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 3,377,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,681,000 after acquiring an additional 886,214 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 20,080,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $194,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,588 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 493.9% in the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 308,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,346,000 after acquiring an additional 256,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.