MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Takes $726,000 Position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 81,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $726,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Vale by 206.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Vale by 3,092.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:VALE traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.51. The stock had a trading volume of 9,964,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,736,907. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.44. The company has a market capitalization of $43.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.60, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $12.62.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on VALE. Bank of America raised 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 report on Thursday, April 10th. CICC Research started coverage on Vale in a research report on Monday, May 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $11.30 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $11.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group cut their price target on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vale currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.04.

About Vale

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.