Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,848,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 275,476 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Vale were worth $16,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Vale by 16.8% during the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,982 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 89.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 9,161 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $182,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 13.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,410 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,520,000 after buying an additional 35,183 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.37. The stock had a trading volume of 21,563,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,629,414. The stock's 50 day moving average is $9.51 and its 200 day moving average is $9.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a PE ratio of 6.51, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.83. Vale S.A. has a twelve month low of $8.06 and a twelve month high of $13.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.39 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.3758 dividend. This is an increase from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $11.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.13.

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.