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

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.6538.

Several analysts have issued reports on VALE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Vale in a report on Friday, May 15th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Vale from $16.50 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $15.50 in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vale from $18.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Friday, April 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vale news, insider Parenti Grazielle Tallia purchased 10,464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.11 per share, for a total transaction of $168,575.04. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 10,464 shares in the company, valued at $168,575.04. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sobrinho Sami Arap purchased 12,990 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.11 per share, with a total value of $209,268.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president owned 12,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,268.90. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 68.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 29,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 11,865 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Vale by 119.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,837,416 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $347,433,000 after acquiring an additional 11,905,247 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Vale by 58.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,763,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,065,000 after acquiring an additional 648,407 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Vale by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 82,860 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 6,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Vale by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,760,917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,016,000 after acquiring an additional 162,387 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $15.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.31. The stock has a market cap of $68.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38 and a beta of 0.46. Vale has a 52-week low of $8.97 and a 52-week high of $17.94.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $9.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.53 billion. Vale had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 21.10%. On average, research analysts expect that Vale will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

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.