JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Price

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $17.50 to $18.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “cautious” rating and set a $15.50 price target on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.87.

Vale Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of VALE stock opened at $14.95 on Thursday. Vale has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $17.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.45. The company has a market capitalization of $67.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69 and a beta of 0.52.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 20.16%. The firm had revenue of $11.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.86 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vale by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 79,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 3,704 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Vale by 46.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 37,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 11,964 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Vale during the first quarter valued at about $171,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Vale during the first quarter valued at about $117,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the second quarter valued at about $123,000. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

About Vale

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.