Vale (NYSE:VALE) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by Bank of America

Bank of America downgraded shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $18.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $17.00.

VALE has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “cautious” rating and set a $15.50 price objective on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, February 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vale from $14.50 to $15.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $16.50 price target on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.38.

Vale Stock Down 1.2%

VALE stock opened at $17.32 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $15.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Vale has a 1-year low of $8.06 and a 1-year high of $17.72.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a return on equity of 20.16% and a net margin of 6.12%. On average, research analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VALE. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew 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 valued at $5,019,000 after buying an additional 55,543 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at about $20,754,000. Advisory Resource Group acquired a new position in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at about $1,434,000. Ninety One North America Inc. increased its position in Vale by 35.6% during the third quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 3,377,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,681,000 after acquiring an additional 886,214 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Vale by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 20,080,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $194,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,588 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.