Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Bank of America

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was upgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $11.50 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $11.00. Bank of America‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 29.87% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on VALE. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank reduced 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. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.65.

Vale Stock Performance

NYSE VALE opened at $8.86 on Thursday. Vale has a 1-year low of $8.06 and a 1-year high of $13.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.81. The company has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.15, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Institutional Trading of Vale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Vale by 215.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Vale by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in Vale by 3,092.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Vale during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 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.