Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Moved Up to Hold by UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on VALE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Vale from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vale from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $16.50 price objective (down from $19.50) on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.04.

Vale Price Performance

VALE stock opened at $13.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.59 and a 200-day moving average of $15.37. The company has a market cap of $60.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Vale has a 12-month low of $10.71 and a 12-month high of $17.94.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.10). Vale had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 5.11%.The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.47 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vale will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.3088 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is 89.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vale by 12.1% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 106,359 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 11,446 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Vale by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,248,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $78,930,000 after purchasing an additional 410,464 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Vale by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 423,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,373,000 after purchasing an additional 55,569 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Vale by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 83,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 6,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Vale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $178,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

About Vale

Vale SA is a Brazil-based global mining company and one of the world’s major producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets, which are used primarily in steelmaking. The company also produces nickel, copper, manganese, coal and other mineral products, serving customers in the steel, energy and technology industries.

Founded in 1942 as Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, the company was privatized in 1997 and adopted the Vale name in 2007. Its operations are concentrated in Brazil, particularly in the states of Pará and Minas Gerais, while its base-metals business has mining and processing activities in countries including Canada and Indonesia.

Vale also operates an integrated logistics system that includes railways, ports and maritime transportation infrastructure used to move its products from mining regions to domestic and international markets.