Pzena Investment Management LLC Takes $2.10 Million Position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 132,495 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,101,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VALE. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 21.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,752,878 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $237,889,000 after buying an additional 3,092,376 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 49,161.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,440,413 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $38,705,000 after buying an additional 2,435,459 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in Vale by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 8,396,322 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $133,166,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220,317 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Vale by 112.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,996,496 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $53,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115,137 shares during the period. Finally, Fourth Sail Capital LP bought a new position in Vale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,007,000. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VALE traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $12.60. The stock had a trading volume of 23,955,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,001,893. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.31 and a 200-day moving average of $13.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $56.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.97. Vale S.A. has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $16.08.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). Vale had a return on equity of 19.59% and a net margin of 18.72%. The firm had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.35 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.3182 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 9.7%. Vale's dividend payout ratio is 65.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Saturday, March 30th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group raised shares of Vale from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.67.

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.