Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives $16.04 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.0385.

VALE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Vale from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective (down from $18.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Vale from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $16.50 price target on shares of Vale in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th.

Vale Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of Vale stock opened at $14.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.55. The stock has a market cap of $66.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83 and a beta of 0.49. Vale has a 12-month low of $10.58 and a 12-month high of $17.94.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.10). Vale had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The company had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.47 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.3088 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Vale by 2,239.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,596,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $541,996,000 after buying an additional 39,818,066 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Vale by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,322,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,163,896,000 after acquiring an additional 32,864,929 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Vale by 15,202.2% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,663,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,209,000 after acquiring an additional 15,561,279 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Vale by 119.9% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the first quarter valued at about $128,239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

About Vale

Vale SA is a Brazilian mining and logistics company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Its principal business is the production of iron ore and iron ore pellets, which are supplied to steelmakers around the world. The company also produces nickel, copper, manganese, coal and other mineral products.

Vale operates mining, processing, transportation and logistics infrastructure, including railways, ports and maritime terminals. Its operations and projects span Brazil and other jurisdictions, including Canada and Indonesia, enabling the company to serve customers in international markets.

The company was established in 1942 as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and was privatized in 1997.