Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,928 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 11,318.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,339,000 after buying an additional 1,066,923 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 17.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $238,841,000 after purchasing an additional 232,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $39,517,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.29.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $136.69 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $135.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.39%.

About Valero Energy

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.