Vale SA Stock Hold Recommendation Reiterated (VALE)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Vale (NYSE:VALE) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a hold with a ratings score of C+ . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, attractive valuation levels and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, weak operating cash flow and a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.34, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. Along with the favorable debt-to-equity ratio, the company maintains an adequate quick ratio of 1.20, which illustrates the ability to avoid short-term cash problems.
• The gross profit margin for VALE SA is rather high; currently it is at 58.50%. Regardless of VALE's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, VALE's net profit margin of 21.60% compares favorably to the industry average.
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Metals & Mining industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 66.7% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $6,896.50 million to $2,298.57 million.
• Net operating cash flow has decreased to $4,044.68 million or 41.20% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing the cash generation rate to the industry average, the firm's growth is significantly lower.

Vale S.A. engages in the exploration, production, and sale of basic metals in Brazil and internationally. The company is also involved in fertilizers, logistics, and steel businesses. The company has a P/E ratio of 4.2, below the average metals & mining industry P/E ratio of 4.9and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Vale has a market cap of $129.46 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and metals & mining industry. Shares are down 15.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

You can view the full Vale Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on Vale SA click any of the following:

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