Vale (NYSE:VALE) Rating Increased to Buy at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. Bank of America currently has $11.50 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $11.00.

VALE has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vale has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.65.

Vale Stock Performance

Vale stock opened at $8.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Vale has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $13.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.80. The company has a market cap of $40.47 billion, a PE ratio of 6.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $10.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.03 billion. Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. Research analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.3758 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.08%.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Vale by 215.9% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Vale by 206.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Vale by 3,092.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vale in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vale by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during 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.