Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.04.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VALE. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $11.00 price target (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. CICC Research initiated coverage on Vale in a research note on Monday, May 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $11.30 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Vale by 25.9% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 166,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after buying an additional 34,185 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the first quarter worth $117,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vale by 25.5% during the first quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 156,586 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 31,830 shares during the period. Integrity Alliance LLC. increased its position in shares of Vale by 15.3% during the first quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 18,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 2,517 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the first quarter worth $171,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE VALE opened at $9.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $41.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.65, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.76. Vale has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $12.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.37.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 15.54%. As a group, analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.