Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,442 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Valero Energy by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 14,705 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,742 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its stake in Valero Energy by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 1,753 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in Valero Energy by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Mizuho raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO traded down $7.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $148.56. The stock had a trading volume of 3,457,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,709,691. The company has a market cap of $48.58 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $119.88 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.