Analysts Set Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Target Price at $13.26

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the ten research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.26.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Vale from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group downgraded Vale from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $14.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Institutional Trading of Vale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in Vale by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 47,163,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $418,338,000 after purchasing an additional 10,557,888 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Vale by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,995,398 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $301,541,000 after purchasing an additional 5,775,590 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Vale by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,238,313 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $161,773,000 after purchasing an additional 6,023,144 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Vale by 3,692.5% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 18,200,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $212,576,000 after purchasing an additional 17,720,100 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Vale by 10.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,404,942 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $203,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,544 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VALE traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.78. 31,743,677 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,358,476. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a PE ratio of 4.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.91. Vale has a one year low of $8.38 and a one year high of $13.77. The company's 50 day moving average is $9.08 and its 200 day moving average is $10.00.

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.