Vale (NYSE:VALE) Price Target Raised to $22.00

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its price objective boosted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 62.66% from the stock’s current price.

VALE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Vale from $16.75 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Vale from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.04.

Vale Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE VALE traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.53. 22,428,900 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,270,104. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.38. The company has a market capitalization of $61.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56 and a beta of 0.49. Vale has a 12 month low of $10.71 and a 12 month high of $17.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.10). Vale had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 5.11%.The business had revenue of $10.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.47 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vale will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 106,359 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,600,000 after buying an additional 11,446 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 8.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,248,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,930,000 after acquiring an additional 410,464 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 15.1% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 423,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,373,000 after purchasing an additional 55,569 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 7.9% in the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 83,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 6,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Vale during the second quarter worth approximately $178,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vale

Vale SA is a Brazil-based global mining company and one of the world’s major producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets, which are used primarily in steelmaking. The company also produces nickel, copper, manganese, coal and other mineral products, serving customers in the steel, energy and technology industries.

Founded in 1942 as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, the company was privatized in 1997 and adopted the Vale name in 2007. Its operations are concentrated in Brazil, particularly in the states of Pará and Minas Gerais, while its base-metals business has mining and processing activities in countries including Canada and Indonesia.

Vale also operates an integrated logistics system that includes railways, ports and maritime transportation infrastructure used to move its products from mining regions to domestic and international markets.