Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 499,380 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 35,836 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Vale were worth $4,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Vale by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 25,876 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,181 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 17,278 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Vale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 170,951 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VALE. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $11.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. CICC Research began coverage on Vale in a report on Monday, May 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vale has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.04.

Vale Stock Up 2.8%

Vale stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.74. 66,571,318 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,082,849. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $9.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a PE ratio of 7.05, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.76. Vale S.A. has a one year low of $8.06 and a one year high of $12.05.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). Vale had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

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.