Barings LLC Increases Stock Position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Key Points

• Barings LLC has raised its stake in Vale S.A. by 5.6%, now holding 845,593 shares valued at approximately $8.44 million following the purchase of an additional 44,897 shares in Q1.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Vale recently, with FMR LLC and Lazard Asset Management both boosting their holdings by over 28% and 49%, respectively, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 21.85%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Vale's stock, with target price adjustments made by Scotiabank and UBS, indicating a cautious outlook alongside six "hold" ratings and five "buy" ratings among the analysts.

Barings LLC grew its position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 845,593 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 44,897 shares during the quarter. Barings LLC's holdings in Vale were worth $8,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VALE. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Vale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 193.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,713 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Vale by 233.7% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,440 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Vale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $64,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE VALE traded down $0.01 on Wednesday, hitting $9.87. 21,229,475 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,170,234. The company has a market cap of $44.78 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 0.74. Vale S.A. has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $12.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.69 and a 200-day moving average of $9.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.54 billion. Vale had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 18.14%. As a group, analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3417 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a yield of 740.0%. Vale's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VALE. Bank of America raised shares of Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 target price (up from $9.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, CICC Research started coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, May 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.84.

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.