Vale (NYSE:VALE) Coverage Initiated at CICC Research

CICC Research started coverage on shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $11.30 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $11.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.04.

Vale Price Performance

VALE opened at $9.61 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $43.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.83. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $8.06 and a fifty-two week high of $13.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.3758 dividend. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is 54.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Vale by 215.9% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Vale by 3,092.0% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,092 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Vale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Vale by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.