Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. Purchases 1,524,679 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 70.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,686,411 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,524,679 shares during the quarter. Vale accounts for about 11.1% of Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. owned approximately 0.08% of Vale worth $32,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Vale by 215.9% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Vale by 206.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,092 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vale in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $11.00 price target (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.44.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.60. 19,223,714 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,568,043. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business's 50-day moving average price is $9.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. Vale S.A. has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $13.14.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $10.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.03 billion. Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. Equities analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

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

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.