HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Invests $567,000 in Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 35,751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $567,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Vale by 423.1% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Vale by 2,502.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 2,728 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vale Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VALE opened at $11.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Vale S.A. has a 12 month low of $11.02 and a 12 month high of $16.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.20. The stock has a market cap of $50.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.18, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.98.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). Vale had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 19.59%. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Vale S.A. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a report on Saturday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.67.

About Vale

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.