Regal Partners Ltd Acquires 1,566,363 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Regal Partners Ltd raised its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 202.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,340,741 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,566,363 shares during the quarter. Vale accounts for 2.1% of Regal Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Regal Partners Ltd owned about 0.05% of Vale worth $20,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VALE. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Vale by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,982 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Vale by 89.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 9,161 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Vale in the third quarter worth approximately $79,000. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the 3rd quarter worth $182,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,410 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 35,183 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $11.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vale currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.13.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VALE traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.37. The company had a trading volume of 21,563,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,599,474. Vale S.A. has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 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. The firm has a market cap of $42.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.51, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $9.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.58.

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

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.3758 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Vale's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. Vale's dividend payout ratio is 54.35%.

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.