Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.13.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VALE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $11.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th.

Vale Price Performance

Vale stock opened at $9.33 on Wednesday. Vale has a 12-month low of $8.06 and a 12-month high of $13.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.33 billion, a PE ratio of 6.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.83.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.3758 per share. This is a positive change from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Vale by 215.9% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Vale by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 3,092.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,092 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.