Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 275,476 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,848,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 275,476 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $16,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VALE. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Vale by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vale by 89.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 9,161 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the third quarter worth about $79,000. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at approximately $182,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 301,410 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,520,000 after buying an additional 35,183 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VALE shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upgraded Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.44.

Vale Stock Performance

NYSE VALE opened at $9.51 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.91. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $13.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.56 and a 200-day moving average of $9.62.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.3758 per share. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is presently 52.08%.

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.