Vale (NYSE:VALE) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vale from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Vale to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $11.50 price target on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.61.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of Vale stock opened at $12.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.22. Vale has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $12.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.26. The firm has a market cap of $56.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.82.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. Vale had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 14.23%.The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.39 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Vale by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Vale during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new stake in shares of Vale during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Vale by 98.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position in Vale by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,713 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by 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.