Analysts Set Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Target Price at $12.13

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.1333.

Several research firms have recently commented on VALE. Morgan Stanley set a $11.50 price objective on Vale in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Vale from $13.50 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Scotiabank raised 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. HSBC raised their price objective on Vale from $12.25 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Clarkson Capital began coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company.

Vale Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE VALE opened at $11.41 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.98. 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 has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $11.66. The company has a market capitalization of $51.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 0.80.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 research analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.3417 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 740.0%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.35%.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the first quarter worth about $30,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the second quarter worth about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 98.4% during 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. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 193.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Company Profile

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.