Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives $12.86 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.84.

VALE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Vale Trading Up 7.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $8.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.15, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. Vale has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $13.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.36). Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $10.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.03 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.3758 dividend. This is an increase from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vale’s payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Institutional Trading of Vale

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in Vale during the third quarter worth approximately $1,126,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Vale by 274.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 162,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 119,061 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,422,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 349,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after buying an additional 98,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Vale by 206.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Company Profile

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.