Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Position in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,601,499 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 857,986 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.10% of Vale worth $53,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Vale in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale in the third quarter valued at about $118,000. Deuterium Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vale during the first quarter worth about $122,000. Finally, Vawter Financial Ltd. purchased a new position in Vale during the second quarter worth about $124,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company's stock.

Vale Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of VALE stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $10.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,462,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,388,793. Vale S.A. has a 1-year low of $9.66 and a 1-year high of $16.08. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $10.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.24. The company has a market capitalization of $48.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $9.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.61 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 22.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vale S.A. will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VALE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of Vale from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Vale from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on Vale in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.17.

Vale Profile

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.