Vale S.A. $VALE Shares Bought by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 91.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,034 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Vale were worth $1,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VALE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Vale by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL boosted its position in Vale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 72,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Vale by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 38,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 2.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 25,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 66,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VALE shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $16.50 price objective (down from $19.50) on shares of Vale in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Vale from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.15.

Vale Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE VALE opened at $14.64 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $66.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 0.46. Vale S.A. has a 12 month low of $9.36 and a 12 month high of $17.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.25 and a 200-day moving average of $15.82.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). Vale had a return on equity of 21.10% and a net margin of 7.21%.The company had revenue of $9.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.53 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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.