Norden Group LLC Makes New Investment in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 82,512 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,309,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Vale by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 803,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,766,000 after buying an additional 123,277 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vale during the third quarter valued at approximately $168,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its position in shares of Vale by 1.1% during the third quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 259,821 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 2,729 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vale by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 237,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 17,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Vale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 111,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of VALE stock traded down $0.29 on Tuesday, reaching $12.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,818,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,802,982. The company has a market capitalization of $54.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.77, a PEG ratio of 5.25 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.48). Vale had a return on equity of 19.59% and a net margin of 18.72%. The company had revenue of $13.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.25 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.3182 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VALE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com started coverage on Vale in a research report on Saturday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have assigned 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.

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.