Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives $11.93 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.93.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Scotiabank upgraded Vale from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on Vale from $13.50 to $13.70 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Zacks Research downgraded Vale from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Clarkson Capital started coverage on Vale in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Vale by 8.5% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in Vale by 5.1% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 23,597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Vale by 5.1% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 25,876 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in Vale by 2.3% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 61,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Vale by 7.5% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 20,340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VALE opened at $11.00 on Friday. Vale has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $11.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $10.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.84. The company has a market capitalization of $49.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. Vale had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 14.23%.The firm had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $0.3417 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a yield of 740.0%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.35%.

About Vale

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.