Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vale from $19.50 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $16.50 price target (down from $19.50) on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vale from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.54.

Vale Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $14.20 on Friday. Vale has a 12-month low of $9.36 and a 12-month high of $17.94. The stock has a market cap of $64.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $15.56 and a 200-day moving average of $15.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $9.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.53 billion. Vale had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 21.10%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Vale by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 20,809,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,145,000 after acquiring an additional 9,103,727 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Vale by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,838,991 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,992,000 after purchasing an additional 66,896 shares during the last quarter. Surience Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter valued at $2,218,000. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Vale by 575.2% in the 4th quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 488,718 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,368,000 after purchasing an additional 416,339 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Vale by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,603,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,892,000 after purchasing an additional 568,637 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vale

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.