R Squared Ltd Boosts Position in Vale S.A. $VALE

R Squared Ltd lifted its position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 140.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 30,923 shares during the quarter. R Squared Ltd’s holdings in Vale were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Vale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 29,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 60.0% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. Fullcircle Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Vale by 8.7% in the third quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 13,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank raised its position in shares of Vale by 8.5% in the third quarter. Busey Bank now owns 15,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Vale by 7.7% during the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 18,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 1,318 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vale Stock Performance

VALE stock opened at $17.18 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.34 and its 200 day moving average is $12.78. Vale S.A. has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $17.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a return on equity of 20.16% and a net margin of 6.12%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VALE. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price target on Vale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vale from $14.50 to $15.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vale from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $16.50 target price on shares of Vale in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.38.

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.