Vale (NYSE:VALE) Lowered to “Sector Perform” Rating by Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has $15.50 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $14.50.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VALE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.56.

Vale Price Performance

Vale stock opened at $15.06 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $15.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.15. Vale has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $17.72.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Vale by 2,239.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Vale by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,322,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,163,896,000 after purchasing an additional 32,864,929 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vale by 1,534.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,810,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $240,908,000 after purchasing an additional 23,292,629 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 65,132,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $848,677,000 after purchasing an additional 19,397,396 shares during the period. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the third quarter valued at $123,532,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.