Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives $16.72 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.72.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VALE. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research lowered Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Vale from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 5th.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of Vale stock opened at $10.40 on Tuesday. Vale has a 12 month low of $9.66 and a 12 month high of $16.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $46.62 billion, a PE ratio of 5.75, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.51.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Vale had a return on equity of 22.23% and a net margin of 23.07%. The business had revenue of $9.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.97 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Vale will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.3698 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 12.1%. This is a boost from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Vale during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,360,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vale during the second quarter worth approximately $429,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its position in shares of Vale by 60.6% in the second quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 21,969,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $245,404,000 after purchasing an additional 8,288,112 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Vale by 4.7% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 138,509 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 6,173 shares during the period. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.