Vale (NYSE:VALE) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $17.00. The stock had previously closed at $11.67, but opened at $12.06. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Vale shares last traded at $11.89, with a volume of 27,429,076 shares.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Saturday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 86.0% in the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 19,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 8,860 shares during the last quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Vale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $335,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Vale by 133.7% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 6,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 3,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Vale during the first quarter worth $373,000. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.80. The stock has a market cap of $53.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.97.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). Vale had a return on equity of 20.00% and a net margin of 19.10%. The business had revenue of $13.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.3182 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.48%.

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.