Royal Bank of Canada Increases Stake in Vale S.A. $VALE

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Vale S.A. by 37.8%, acquiring an additional 401,614 shares, bringing its total to 1,463,665 shares valued at approximately $14.6 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Vale's stock, with price targets varying from $10.00 to $13.50, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $11.71.
• Vale recently declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.3417 with a yield of 740.0%, despite the company also reporting lower-than-expected revenue of $8.80 billion in its last earnings results.

Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 37.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,463,665 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 401,614 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada's holdings in Vale were worth $14,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VALE. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the first quarter valued at approximately $371,778,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its holdings in Vale by 165.9% during the 1st quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 31,257,989 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $311,955,000 after buying an additional 19,500,437 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position 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 valued at $159,005,000 after buying an additional 4,389,959 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Vale by 15.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc grew its holdings in Vale by 193.7% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 5,100,597 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $45,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,363,941 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VALE. Clarkson Capital assumed coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Vale from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research cut Vale from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Vale from $15.00 to $13.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.71.

Vale Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE VALE traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $10.92. 39,630,142 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,916,414. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $12.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.73. The firm has a market cap of $49.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Vale Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.3417 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a yield of 740.0%. Vale's payout ratio is presently 59.35%.

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.