JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Vale (NYSE:VALE) Price Target to $15.00

Vale (NYSE:VALE) had its price target cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $16.50 to $15.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on VALE. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Wolfe Research cut Vale from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Vale from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $16.17.

Vale Stock Performance

NYSE VALE opened at $11.16 on Monday. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $9.66 and a fifty-two week high of $16.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.13, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.45.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Vale had a return on equity of 22.23% and a net margin of 23.07%. The company had revenue of $9.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.97 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vale will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.3698 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This is a positive change from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.32. This represents a dividend yield of 12.1%. Vale’s payout ratio is currently 64.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Vale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,360,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the second quarter valued at approximately $429,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 60.6% in the second quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 21,969,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $245,404,000 after purchasing an additional 8,288,112 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Vale by 4.7% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 138,509 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,547,000 after buying an additional 6,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vale during the second quarter worth $1,676,000. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.