Vale (NYSE:VALE) Raised to Buy at Bank of America

Vale (NYSE:VALE) was upgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $11.50 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $11.00. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 24.95% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on VALE. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vale currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.65.

Vale Stock Performance

VALE opened at $9.20 on Thursday. Vale has a 12-month low of $8.06 and a 12-month high of $13.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.78. 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 data on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $10.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.03 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Vale by 206.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Vale by 3,092.0% during the 4th 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 period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Vale during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Vale by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

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.