Vale (NYSE:VALE) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

VALE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vale from $13.70 to $13.80 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Vale to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price objective on Vale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Vale from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.55.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VALE traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.15. 31,631,276 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,888,230. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 0.82. Vale has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $12.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.20.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. Vale had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 14.23%.The business had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.39 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Vale during the first quarter worth about $30,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new stake in Vale during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 98.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,021 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Vale in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vale during the second quarter worth about $48,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.