VALE S.A. (NYSE:VALE) is Fourth Sail Capital LP's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Fourth Sail Capital LP reduced its stake in Vale S.A. by 35.9%, resulting in ownership of about 2.26 million shares, which is approximately 5.3% of its portfolio.
• Vale's quarterly earnings report showed earnings of $0.50 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.34, while revenue for the quarter was $8.80 billion, lower than the $9.54 billion consensus estimate.
• Several analysts have recently updated their ratings on Vale, with Barclays raising its price target from $12.75 to $13.00 and assigning an "overweight" rating.

Fourth Sail Capital LP trimmed its holdings in shares of VALE S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 35.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,262,967 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,266,333 shares during the quarter. VALE accounts for about 5.3% of Fourth Sail Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Fourth Sail Capital LP's holdings in VALE were worth $22,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of VALE by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 25,876 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in VALE by 5.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its stake in VALE by 10.9% in the first quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 17,278 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in VALE by 14.4% in the first quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,951 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of VALE by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 170,951 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VALE Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE:VALE traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.22. 41,937,507 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 50,015,028. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $46.39 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $9.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.58. 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 announced its earnings results 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. VALE had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The company had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.54 billion. Equities analysts predict that VALE S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

VALE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.3417 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 740.0%. VALE's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on VALE. 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 research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America upgraded VALE from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank cut their target price on VALE from $13.00 to $12.50 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of VALE in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of VALE from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.84.

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.