Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Position Reduced by RWC Asset Management LLP

RWC Asset Management LLP lessened its stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,138,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 78,539 shares during the period. Vale accounts for about 3.0% of RWC Asset Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. RWC Asset Management LLP owned 0.07% of Vale worth $49,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Vale by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 30,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 827 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in Vale by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 14,010 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Vale by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vale by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,673 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC increased its position in Vale by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 5,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Stock Performance

VALE stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $12.28. The company had a trading volume of 21,435,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,778,502. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.74. The company has a market cap of $55.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.28. Vale S.A. has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $16.08.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). The company had revenue of $13.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.95 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 20.00% and a net margin of 19.10%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.3182 dividend. This represents a yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VALE. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Bank of America reissued 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Saturday, March 30th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

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.