Vale S.A. $VALE Shares Purchased by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 91.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,034 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Vale were worth $1,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna grew its holdings in shares of Vale by 128.3% during the 4th quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna now owns 2,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Vale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in Vale by 15,360.0% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 3,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 3,072 shares in the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE VALE opened at $14.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $66.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Vale S.A. has a 52 week low of $9.36 and a 52 week high of $17.94.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.08). Vale had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 21.10%. The firm had revenue of $9.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.53 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VALE. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America raised shares of Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Vale in a research note on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $16.50 price target (down from $19.50) on shares of Vale in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.15.

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.