Vale (NYSE:VALE) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) in a report released on Tuesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vale currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.26.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $10.17 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.14 billion, a PE ratio of 7.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Vale has a 12 month low of $8.38 and a 12 month high of $13.14.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.36). Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. The business had revenue of $10.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.03 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.3758 per share. This is a positive change from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 1,349 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Vale by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Vale by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Vale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 170,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,516,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Company Profile

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.