Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.67.

VALE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Vale in a report on Saturday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Vale by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,752,878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $237,889,000 after purchasing an additional 3,092,376 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Vale by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,315,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $195,319,000 after buying an additional 2,224,756 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC now owns 10,837,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $171,876,000 after buying an additional 75,726 shares during the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP raised its position in Vale by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 9,399,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $149,082,000 after acquiring an additional 705,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its position in Vale by 1.7% in the third quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 9,254,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,007,000 after acquiring an additional 150,918 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $12.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $55.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.71, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Vale has a 12 month low of $11.52 and a 12 month high of $16.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.74.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). Vale had a return on equity of 20.00% and a net margin of 19.10%. The firm had revenue of $13.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vale will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.3182 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a yield of 9.7%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.48%.

About Vale

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.