83,422 Shares in Vale S.A. $VALE Acquired by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 83,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $906,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co bought a new stake in shares of Vale in the second quarter worth $34,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC acquired a new position in Vale during the 3rd quarter worth about $87,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Vale by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new stake in shares of Vale in the second quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in shares of Vale during the third quarter worth about $109,000. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Price Performance

Vale stock opened at $16.69 on Friday. Vale S.A. has a 52-week low of $8.06 and a 52-week high of $17.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.53.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($1.42). Vale had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 20.16%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vale S.A. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $0.2331 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. Vale’s payout ratio is presently 67.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VALE. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “cautious” rating and issued a $15.50 target price on shares of Vale in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Vale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vale in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Vale from $13.80 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.88.

Vale Company 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.