Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Price

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its target price cut by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $15.00 to $13.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 16.95% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research lowered Vale from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $15.50 price objective on Vale in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Vale from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.96.

Vale Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of VALE stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $11.12. 7,497,394 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,418,752. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.23 and a beta of 0.42. Vale has a one year low of $11.06 and a one year high of $17.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.45 billion. Vale had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 19.87%. Sell-side analysts predict that Vale will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VALE. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Vale in the third quarter worth $971,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Vale by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 60,875 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 4,880 shares during the period. Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC grew its position in Vale by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC now owns 37,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in Vale by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 63,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new position in Vale in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,284,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA is a Brazil-based global mining and logistics company best known for producing iron ore and iron ore pellets, key raw materials used in steelmaking. The company also produces nickel, copper, manganese ore, coal and other mineral products, with operations spanning exploration, extraction, processing and transportation.

Vale operates an extensive logistics network that includes railways, ports and maritime transportation systems, primarily supporting the movement of minerals from its production sites to domestic and international customers.