Vale (NYSE:VALE) Rating Increased to Buy at Bank of America

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was upgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $19.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $18.00. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 18.26% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on VALE. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $16.50 target price on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Vale from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.25.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of Vale stock opened at $16.07 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Vale has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $17.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.61. The firm has a market cap of $72.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69 and a beta of 0.53.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($1.42). The business had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.86 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 20.16% and a net margin of 6.12%. Sell-side analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Vale in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna boosted its stake in Vale by 128.3% during the fourth quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna now owns 2,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Vale by 60.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vale

Vale SA is a Brazilian multinational mining company and one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets. In addition to iron ore, the company produces and sells a range of bulk commodities and metals, including nickel, copper, coal, manganese, ferroalloys and cobalt, and it participates in the fertilizer inputs market. Vale also operates extensive logistics assets — including rail, port and maritime logistics — that support its mining and export activities and provide services to third parties in some regions.

Headquartered in Brazil, Vale maintains a global operational footprint with mining, processing and shipping activities across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.