Vale (NYSE:VALE) Earns “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) in a research note published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $11.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $12.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Vale in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.44.

Vale Stock Performance

Vale stock opened at $9.10 on Thursday. Vale has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $13.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.72. 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 company has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a PE ratio of 6.32, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. The business had revenue of $10.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.03 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Vale by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 1,349 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vale by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Vale by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its position in Vale by 10.9% in the first quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 17,278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Vale by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.