Capital Analysts LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Capital Analysts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 28.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $89,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its stake in Vale by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 9,254,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,007,000 after purchasing an additional 150,918 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Vale by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Vale by 49,161.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,440,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,705,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435,459 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Vale by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,724,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $90,112,000 after purchasing an additional 289,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Vale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $290,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VALE. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com started coverage on Vale in a research note on Saturday, March 30th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.67.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE stock opened at $11.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $12.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Vale S.A. has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $16.08.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). Vale had a return on equity of 20.00% and a net margin of 19.10%. The business had revenue of $13.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. Analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.3182 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 9.7%. Vale’s payout ratio is currently 64.48%.

Vale 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.