Quadrant Capital Group LLC Grows Position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 101.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,750 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $382,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Vale by 215.9% during 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 period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Vale by 206.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,092 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Stock Down 3.1 %

NYSE:VALE opened at $8.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.85. Vale S.A. has a one year low of $8.38 and a one year high of $13.14. The company has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.36). Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.03 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3758 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. This is a boost from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is 52.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.86.

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.