Kiltearn Partners LLP Boosts Holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Kiltearn Partners LLP lifted its position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,809,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 124,900 shares during the quarter. Vale accounts for 2.6% of Kiltearn Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Kiltearn Partners LLP’s holdings in Vale were worth $16,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in Vale in the third quarter worth about $1,126,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 274.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 162,453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 119,061 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in Vale by 723.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,035,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,774,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788,205 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,422,000. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Vale by 17.6% in the third quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 469,036 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,478,000 after purchasing an additional 70,278 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vale Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE VALE opened at $10.17 on Friday. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $8.38 and a 1-year high of $13.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $9.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.36). Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $10.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.03 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.3758 dividend. This is a positive change from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Vale’s payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VALE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.26.

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.