Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 11.32% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley set a $11.50 price objective on Vale in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Vale from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $14.20 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vale from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 target price on shares of Vale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.38.

Vale Price Performance

Vale stock opened at $16.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.79. Vale has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $17.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $76.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Vale by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,823 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 12,406 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Vale by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 4,072,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,064,000 after buying an additional 1,392,500 shares during the period. Sava Infond d.o.o. increased its position in Vale by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 60,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 17,000 shares in the last quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Vale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,726,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Vale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA is a Brazilian multinational mining company and one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets. In addition to iron ore, the company produces and sells a range of bulk commodities and metals, including nickel, copper, coal, manganese, ferroalloys and cobalt, and it participates in the fertilizer inputs market. Vale also operates extensive logistics assets — including rail, port and maritime logistics — that support its mining and export activities and provide services to third parties in some regions.

Headquartered in Brazil, Vale maintains a global operational footprint with mining, processing and shipping activities across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.