Vale (NYSE:VALE) Stock Price Target Lowered at Freedom Broker

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Freedom Broker from $12.00 to $9.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Freedom Broker‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 16.26% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on VALE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $15.00 price objective on Vale in a research note on Friday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vale from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.12.

Vale Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of VALE traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $11.35. The stock had a trading volume of 27,880,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,538,664. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $11.06 and a fifty-two week high of $17.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.24. The firm has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.64 and a beta of 0.42. 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 (NYSE:VALE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.45 billion. Vale had a net margin of 1.64% and a return on equity of 16.72%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vale by 13.6% during the third quarter. Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC now owns 37,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Vale by 7.3% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 63,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,305 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Vale in the third quarter valued at about $2,284,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Vale in the third quarter valued at about $4,721,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vale by 7.1% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA is a Brazil-based global mining and logistics company best known for producing iron ore and iron ore pellets, key raw materials used in steelmaking. The company also produces nickel, copper, manganese ore, coal and other mineral products, with operations spanning exploration, extraction, processing and transportation.

Vale operates an extensive logistics network that includes railways, ports and maritime transportation systems, primarily supporting the movement of minerals from its production sites to domestic and international customers.