Sava Infond d.o.o. Makes New Investment in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Sava Infond d.o.o. acquired a new position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 43,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vale by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,852,000 after buying an additional 1,494 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Vale by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 215.9% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Vale by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Vale by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 9,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vale Price Performance

VALE opened at $10.17 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $9.59 and a 200 day moving average of $9.90. The stock has a market cap of $46.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.06, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. 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 S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.38 and a 52-week high of $13.14.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $10.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.03 billion. Vale had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 17.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.3758 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays cut their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.25 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.26.

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.