Vale (NYSE:VALE) Price Target Raised to $16.00

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $12.00 to $16.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.65% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on VALE. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vale from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Bank of America cut Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $18.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Vale from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.18.

Vale Price Performance

VALE stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.15. The company had a trading volume of 7,585,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,660,559. Vale has a 1-year low of $8.06 and a 1-year high of $17.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $68.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06 and a beta of 0.52.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Vale had a return on equity of 20.16% and a net margin of 6.12%.The firm had revenue of $11.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.86 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VALE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Vale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,754,000. Advisory Resource Group bought a new position in shares of Vale during the third quarter valued at $1,434,000. Ninety One North America Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 35.6% during the third quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 3,377,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,681,000 after purchasing an additional 886,214 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 5.3% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 20,080,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $194,978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 493.9% in the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 308,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,346,000 after purchasing an additional 256,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.