Vale (NYSE:VALE) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on VALE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Friday, April 10th. Scotiabank set a $19.00 price target on Vale in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vale from $19.50 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America raised Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.85.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE opened at $15.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04 and a beta of 0.46. Vale has a twelve month low of $8.97 and a twelve month high of $17.94. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.49.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $9.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.53 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Vale will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vale

In other Vale news, insider Parenti Grazielle Tallia purchased 10,464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $168,575.04. Following the purchase, the insider owned 10,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,575.04. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sobrinho Sami Arap purchased 12,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $209,268.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 12,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,268.90. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Vale by 58.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 32,864,929 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Vale by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 65,132,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $848,677,000 after purchasing an additional 19,397,396 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Vale by 15.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 47,947,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $762,848,000 after purchasing an additional 6,351,703 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Vale by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 46,215,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $501,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Vale by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 28,961,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $314,526,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,563 shares during the last quarter. 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.