Bank of America Upgrades Vale (NYSE:VALE) to “Buy”

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was upgraded by stock analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $19.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $18.00. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.26% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Vale from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.25.

Vale Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:VALE opened at $16.07 on Thursday. Vale has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $17.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $15.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 20.16%. The firm had revenue of $11.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.86 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vale by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL grew its stake in shares of Vale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 72,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 38,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 66,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vale by 5.4% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 17,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Company Profile

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.