Hsbc Holdings PLC Trims Position in Vale S.A. $VALE

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Vale S.A. by 13.6%, selling 252,184 shares, leaving it with a total of 1,596,473 shares valued at approximately $15.9 million.
• Vale recently posted earnings of $0.50 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, although reported revenue was below forecast at $8.80 billion.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.3417 per share with a significant yield of 740.0%, while the dividend payout ratio stands at 58.54%.

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 13.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,596,473 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 252,184 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Vale were worth $15,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in Vale during the 1st quarter worth about $371,778,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Vale by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,995,398 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $301,541,000 after acquiring an additional 5,775,590 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,238,313 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $161,773,000 after acquiring an additional 6,023,144 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Vale by 38.0% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,932,405 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $159,005,000 after acquiring an additional 4,389,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Vale by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,523,471 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $115,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557,799 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on VALE shares. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, May 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Vale from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.00 price target (up from $9.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.84.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of Vale stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.29. The company had a trading volume of 4,444,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,664,246. The stock has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.67. Vale S.A. has a 12-month low of $8.06 and a 12-month high of $12.05.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.80 billion during 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 predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a $0.3417 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 740.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Vale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.54%.

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.