Analysts Set Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Price Target at $13.88

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.3846.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VALE shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price target on Vale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “cautious” rating and issued a $15.50 price objective on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Vale during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 128.3% during the fourth quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna now owns 2,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Vale by 60.0% in the third 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. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Vale by 15,360.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 3,072 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Trading Down 1.2%

VALE opened at $17.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.73. Vale has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $17.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 20.16%. As a group, analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

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.