Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,623 Shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 68.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vale were worth $35,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Vale by 215.9% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,780 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vale during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of VALE stock opened at $9.10 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.70 and its 200 day moving average is $9.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.32, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 0.72. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.38 and a 52-week high of $13.14.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.36). Vale had a return on equity of 17.38% and a net margin of 16.15%. The company had revenue of $10.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.03 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VALE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Vale from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vale currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.86.

About Vale

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.