Vale (NYSE:VALE) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on VALE. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “cautious” rating and set a $15.50 target price on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Vale from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $15.50 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America lowered shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $17.00 to $18.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vale from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.18.

Vale Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE VALE opened at $15.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.50. Vale has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $17.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83 and a beta of 0.52.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) EPS 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%.The firm had revenue of $11.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.86 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Vale by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 79,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 3,704 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Vale by 46.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 37,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 11,964 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Vale in the first quarter worth approximately $171,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Vale during the 1st quarter valued at $117,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Vale during the 2nd quarter valued at $123,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.