Vale (NYSE:VALE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on VALE. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vale from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $16.50 target price on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “cautious” rating and set a $15.50 target price on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.18.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $15.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.97 and a beta of 0.52. Vale has a 1-year low of $8.06 and a 1-year high of $17.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($1.42). The firm had revenue of $11.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.86 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 20.16% and a net margin of 6.12%. Research analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Vale by 2,239.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,596,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $541,996,000 after buying an additional 39,818,066 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Vale by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,322,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,163,896,000 after buying an additional 32,864,929 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Vale by 1,534.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,810,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $240,908,000 after acquiring an additional 23,292,629 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in Vale by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 65,132,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $848,677,000 after acquiring an additional 19,397,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $123,532,000. Hedge funds and other 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.