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

R Squared Ltd lifted its position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 140.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 52,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,923 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd’s holdings in Vale were worth $574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vale by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 79,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 3,704 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Vale by 46.6% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 37,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 11,964 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the first quarter worth about $171,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Vale during the 1st quarter valued at about $117,000. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Vale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $123,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VALE. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price objective on Vale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “cautious” rating and set a $15.50 target price on shares of Vale in a report on Monday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.38.

Vale Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of VALE opened at $17.18 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.78. Vale S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $8.06 and a fifty-two week high of $17.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.15.

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

About Vale

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.