AIA Group Ltd Grows Position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 36.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 158,479 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,362 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Vale were worth $2,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in Vale by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 8,396,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $133,166,000 after buying an additional 2,220,317 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc. increased its holdings in Vale by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 3,037,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,181,000 after buying an additional 134,843 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Prosperitas Financial LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 110,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 39,946 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC increased its holdings in Vale by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 5,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Price Performance

VALE stock opened at $11.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $11.52 and a 52-week high of $16.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.77. The company has a market capitalization of $53.12 billion, a PE ratio of 6.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.97.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.48). Vale had a net margin of 19.10% and a return on equity of 20.00%. The firm 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 firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.23 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 given a dividend of $0.3182 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a yield of 9.7%. Vale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VALE. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Saturday, March 30th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.67.

Vale 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.