Clarkson Capital Begins Coverage on Vale (NYSE:VALE)

Stock analysts at Clarkson Capital started coverage on shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. Clarkson Capital’s target price points to a potential upside of 16.85% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, May 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $11.30 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (up from $9.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on Vale from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.71.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE opened at $10.27 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.00 and its 200-day moving average is $9.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Vale has a 12-month low of $8.06 and a 12-month high of $12.05.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.54 billion. Vale had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 18.14%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in Vale during the fourth quarter worth $746,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 170,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,018,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,643,000 after acquiring an additional 877,404 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the 4th quarter valued at about $587,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Vale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.