Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Receives $12.86 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.84.

Several research firms recently weighed in on VALE. Morgan Stanley downgraded Vale from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

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Vale Trading Up 7.2 %

Shares of Vale stock traded up $0.60 on Friday, hitting $8.86. 87,776,960 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,482,200. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $9.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Vale has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $13.14. The company has a market cap of $40.19 billion, a PE ratio of 6.15, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.36). Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $10.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.03 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.3758 per share. This is a boost from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a yield of 7.5%. Vale's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Vale by 215.9% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Vale by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Vale by 3,092.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.