Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.84.

VALE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VALE opened at $8.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.15, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. Vale has a one year low of $8.06 and a one year high of $13.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share 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 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 year.

Vale Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.