Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Barclays from $15.50 to $16.50 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 2.11% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 target price on Vale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Vale from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $11.00 to $14.20 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.46.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE traded down $0.33 on Monday, hitting $16.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,035,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,654,547. The company has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.15. Vale has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $17.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.81.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a return on equity of 20.16% and a net margin of 6.12%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna raised its stake in shares of Vale by 128.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna now owns 2,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Vale by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co acquired a new position in Vale during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.