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

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

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.86.

Vale Stock Down 6.5 %

NYSE VALE opened at $9.10 on Wednesday. Vale has a 1-year low of $8.38 and a 1-year high of $13.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $9.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.88. The company has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.32, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Vale Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VALE. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Vale by 215.9% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 206.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vale by 3,092.0% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by 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.