Analysts Set Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Price Target at $14.38

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.38.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Vale from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Vale from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Vale during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Vale during the 3rd quarter worth $79,000. Vienna Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at $117,000. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC purchased a new position in Vale in the third quarter valued at about $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

Vale stock opened at $8.92 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.53. The firm has a market cap of $39.99 billion, a PE ratio of 4.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.91. 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 has a 52-week low of $8.69 and a 52-week high of $16.02.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. Vale had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 21.07%. The firm had revenue of $9.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Vale will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.