Pzena Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Vale S.A. $VALE

Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) by 39.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 172,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 113,149 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vale were worth $2,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Vale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,038,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Vale by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in Vale by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 124,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,627,000 after purchasing an additional 43,924 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Vale by 390.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 10,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 8,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vale by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 178,021 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 16,962 shares during the last quarter. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Price Performance

VALE stock opened at $16.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56 and a beta of 0.46. Vale S.A. has a twelve month low of $8.97 and a twelve month high of $17.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.99. 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 (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $9.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.53 billion. Vale had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 21.10%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vale

In related news, VP Sobrinho Sami Arap purchased 12,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.11 per share, with a total value of $209,268.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 12,990 shares in the company, valued at $209,268.90. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Parenti Grazielle Tallia purchased 10,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.11 per share, with a total value of $168,575.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 10,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,575.04. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vale from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Vale in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vale in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Vale from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.54.

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.