Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

VALE has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Vale from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Vale from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $15.00 target price on Vale in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vale has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.75.

Vale Stock Down 0.8%

VALE stock opened at $13.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $59.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Vale has a 12 month low of $11.23 and a 12 month high of $17.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.22.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.47 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 5.11%. As a group, analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Vale in the first quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Foster Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vale by 6.9% in the third quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 11,697 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Quartz Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vale in the first quarter worth approximately $161,000. Finally, Keybank National Association OH purchased a new position in Vale in the first quarter worth approximately $162,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vale

Vale SA is a Brazil-based global mining and logistics company best known for producing iron ore and iron ore pellets, key raw materials used in steelmaking. The company also produces nickel, copper, manganese ore, coal and other mineral products, with operations spanning exploration, extraction, processing and transportation.

Vale operates an extensive logistics network that includes railways, ports and maritime transportation systems, primarily supporting the movement of minerals from its production sites to domestic and international customers.