JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Price

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $19.50 to $21.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on VALE. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vale from $18.00 to $19.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $15.50 in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.77.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE stock opened at $15.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $71.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.41 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $16.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.38. Vale has a 52 week low of $8.97 and a 52 week high of $17.94.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). Vale had a return on equity of 21.10% and a net margin of 7.21%.The business had revenue of $9.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.53 billion. On average, analysts expect that Vale will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vale by 68.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 29,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 11,865 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Vale by 119.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,837,416 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $347,433,000 after acquiring an additional 11,905,247 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Vale by 58.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,763,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,065,000 after acquiring an additional 648,407 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Vale by 8.6% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 82,860 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 6,544 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Vale by 10.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,760,917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,016,000 after acquiring an additional 162,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.