Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Price

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Barclays from $13.80 to $14.50 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 17.93% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Clarkson Capital began coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Vale from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Vale from $12.25 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Vale from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.61.

Vale Stock Performance

Vale stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $12.30. The stock had a trading volume of 14,848,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,787,395. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.82. Vale has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $12.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.21.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. Vale had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.39 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Vale during the first quarter valued at $30,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new position in shares of Vale during the second quarter valued at $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Vale by 98.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.