Vale (NYSE:VALE) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $13.80 to $14.50. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Vale traded as high as $12.48 and last traded at $12.4310, with a volume of 3445495 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.30.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upgraded Vale from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price objective on Vale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Clarkson Capital began coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.61.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Vale in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Vale by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new stake in Vale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Vale by 98.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vale in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a market cap of $56.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. Vale had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.39 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vale

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.