First Trust Advisors LP Buys New Holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 84,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $746,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 89.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 9,161 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at about $79,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Vale by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 701,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,783,000 after acquiring an additional 8,489 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vale by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 23,845 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Vale by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 24,118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 10,246 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 opened at $9.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.45, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.54. Vale S.A. has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $13.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 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 the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $11.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America upgraded Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.13.

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.