Vale (NYSE:VALE) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) in a research report sent to investors on Friday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 5th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vale from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.15.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VALE opened at $10.63 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $47.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.93. Vale has a 1-year low of $9.66 and a 1-year high of $16.08.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Vale had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 22.23%. The company had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.97 billion. Research analysts expect that Vale will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.3698 dividend. This is an increase from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 12.1%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 17,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Vale by 1.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 62,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vale by 6.8% in the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 19,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 22,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vale Company Profile

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.