Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Bought by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 780,234 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,462 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy accounts for approximately 0.8% of Huntington National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $105,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter worth $15,945,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $174,673,000 after acquiring an additional 22,571 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $535,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Valero Energy by 223.1% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,796 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 7,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Valero Energy by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 42,716 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,696,000 after purchasing an additional 8,198 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler downgraded Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $139.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $135.63 and a 200-day moving average of $146.80.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.