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

Hourglass Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $135.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.80.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. 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.