Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Stock Position Lifted by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 147,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,859 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Vale were worth $2,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its position in shares of Vale by 125.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 24,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 13,600 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vale by 7.9% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,446 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,899 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in Vale by 28.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 30,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 6,829 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Vale by 55.5% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 151,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 54,151 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VALE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vale in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.98.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VALE traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $12.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 28,230,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,063,414. Vale S.A. has a one year low of $11.88 and a one year high of $16.60. The company has a market cap of $54.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.48). The company had revenue of $13.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.95 billion. Vale had a net margin of 19.10% and a return on equity of 20.00%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.3182 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 9.7%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.48%.

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.