Analysts Set Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Price Target at $16.31

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.3077.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VALE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $16.50 price objective (down from $19.50) on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Vale from $19.50 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th.

Vale Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:VALE opened at $14.79 on Friday. Vale has a 12-month low of $9.36 and a 12-month high of $17.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.81.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $9.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.53 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Vale will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Vale by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL grew its stake in shares of Vale by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 72,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 38,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 2.8% during the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 25,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Vale by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 66,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.