HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Vale S.A. $VALE

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 356,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,785 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $3,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VALE. CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new position in shares of Vale in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC bought a new stake in Vale during the third quarter worth about $87,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in Vale in the second quarter worth about $87,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Vale by 49.0% during the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vale by 42.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of VALE opened at $17.54 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.70. Vale S.A. has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $17.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 20.16%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Vale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.2331 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 157.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on VALE shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price target on Vale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “cautious” rating and issued a $15.50 target price on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 16th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $16.50 target price on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.88.

Vale Profile

Vale SA is a Brazilian multinational mining company and one of the world’s largest producers of iron ore and iron ore pellets. In addition to iron ore, the company produces and sells a range of bulk commodities and metals, including nickel, copper, coal, manganese, ferroalloys and cobalt, and it participates in the fertilizer inputs market. Vale also operates extensive logistics assets — including rail, port and maritime logistics — that support its mining and export activities and provide services to third parties in some regions.

Headquartered in Brazil, Vale maintains a global operational footprint with mining, processing and shipping activities across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.