Trexquant Investment LP Has $8.13 Million Holdings in Vale S.A. $VALE

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its stake in Vale S.A. by 24.7% during the 1st quarter, now holding 814,719 shares valued at approximately $8.13 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Vale, with GQG Partners LLC acquiring a new stake valued at $371.78 million, significantly boosting the company's overall institutional ownership to 21.85%.
• Vale's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.50, exceeding expectations, although the company announced a cut in dividend payout despite a high yield of 740.0%.

Trexquant Investment LP lessened its holdings in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 24.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 814,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 267,494 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Vale were worth $8,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VALE. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vale in the fourth quarter valued at $746,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 170,951 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,516,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,018,372 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,643,000 after buying an additional 877,404 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Vale in the fourth quarter valued at $587,000. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 53,611 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 5,951 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE VALE traded up $0.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $10.26. 13,464,236 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,400,820. Vale S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $8.06 and a fifty-two week high of $12.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.55 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $9.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.68.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. Vale had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 14.23%.The firm had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.54 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VALE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vale from $15.00 to $13.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 target price (up from $9.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.71.

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.