StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Vale (NYSE:VALE)

Analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) in a research report issued on Tuesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wolfe Research raised Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.26.

Vale Stock Down 1.3 %

VALE stock opened at $9.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.10 billion, a PE ratio of 6.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.51 and a 200-day moving average of $9.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.91. Vale has a one year low of $8.38 and a one year high of $13.14.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 47,163,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $418,338,000 after buying an additional 10,557,888 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Vale by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,995,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $301,541,000 after acquiring an additional 5,775,590 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,238,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,773,000 after acquiring an additional 6,023,144 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Vale by 3,692.5% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 18,200,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $212,576,000 after purchasing an additional 17,720,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Vale by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,404,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $203,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,544 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.