Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.9583.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price target on Vale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Vale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Vale from $12.25 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VALE. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 59.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 97,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $947,000 after acquiring an additional 36,372 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Vale by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 529,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,019,000 after purchasing an additional 55,543 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Vale by 37.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,463,665 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,608,000 after purchasing an additional 401,614 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 197.2% during the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 59,968 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 39,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Vale by 25.9% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 34,185 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Stock Up 1.5%

Vale stock opened at $13.00 on Thursday. Vale has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $13.62. The stock has a market cap of $58.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.14. Vale had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.39 billion. On average, analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.2331 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is 56.15%.

About Vale

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.