Vale (NYSE:VALE) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) in a research note released on Saturday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on VALE. Barclays dropped their price objective on Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vale has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $16.98.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of VALE stock opened at $12.19 on Friday. Vale has a 1-year low of $11.88 and a 1-year high of $16.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.13 and its 200 day moving average is $13.93. The company has a market cap of $54.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). Vale had a net margin of 19.10% and a return on equity of 20.00%. The company had revenue of $13.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Research analysts predict that Vale will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.3182 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Vale’s payout ratio is 64.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its stake in shares of Vale by 1.7% in the third quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 9,254,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $124,007,000 after purchasing an additional 150,918 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Vale by 4.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,724,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $90,112,000 after acquiring an additional 289,495 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Vale during the third quarter valued at approximately $290,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Vale by 4.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,606,201 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,323,000 after acquiring an additional 139,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Vale by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 33,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 5,591 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vale

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.