Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) Stock Position Lowered by Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC

Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 321,073 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 119,226 shares during the period. Vale makes up 4.8% of Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Oaktree Fund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $2,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Vale by 206.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Vale in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 3,092.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Vale in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vale presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.26.

Vale Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE VALE opened at $10.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.64 billion, a PE ratio of 6.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.85. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $8.38 and a 1-year high of $13.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.61 and a 200-day moving average of $9.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

Vale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.3758 per share. This is a positive change from Vale’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.30. This represents a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Vale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.08%.

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.