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

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.8846.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VALE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price objective on Vale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Vale from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $14.20 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Vale by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,322,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,163,896,000 after buying an additional 32,864,929 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vale by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 65,132,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $848,677,000 after acquiring an additional 19,397,396 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Vale by 4.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 46,215,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $501,715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,266 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Vale by 2,239.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,596,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $541,996,000 after acquiring an additional 39,818,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Vale by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 28,961,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $314,526,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151,563 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Stock Performance

VALE stock opened at $16.90 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.98 and its 200 day moving average is $12.62. Vale has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $17.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted 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 net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 20.16%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.2331 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 157.14%.

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.