Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Stake Boosted by Natixis

Natixis raised its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 1,232.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 101,838 shares during the quarter. Natixis’ holdings in Vale were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VALE. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Vale by 215.9% in the 4th 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 boosted its position in shares of Vale by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in Vale by 3,092.0% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,092 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vale in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Vale by 68.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Stock Performance

NYSE:VALE opened at $9.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.35 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Vale S.A. has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $13.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.66.

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

Vale Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VALE. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $11.00 price target (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wolfe Research raised Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vale presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.44.

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.