Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 18,998 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 123,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 18,998 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $1,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Vale by 423.1% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Vale during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 2,502.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VALE. UBS Group raised Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Saturday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.67.

Vale Trading Up 0.8 %

VALE opened at $12.70 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $56.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.01, a PEG ratio of 5.44 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.72.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $13.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.95 billion. Vale had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 19.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Cuts Dividend

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

About Vale

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.