Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,865,596 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 313,431 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.17% of Vale worth $69,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the 4th quarter worth about $746,000. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its position in Vale by 70.5% during the fourth quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 3,686,411 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524,679 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vale by 2,160.3% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 75,696 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 72,347 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in shares of Vale by 95.4% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 3,977,115 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Vale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 80,270 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 10,480 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Stock Performance

NYSE VALE traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.37. 21,563,644 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,629,414. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.83. Vale S.A. has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $13.14. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $9.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.57.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.39 billion. Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a yield of 7.5%. This is a boost from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vale's payout ratio is presently 54.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VALE. Bank of America upgraded shares of Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 $12.13.

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.