Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Acquired by Leeward Investments LLC MA

Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,277 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,269,949,000 after purchasing an additional 517,068 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $570,428,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $447,957,000 after acquiring an additional 122,207 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,569,000 after acquiring an additional 342,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after acquiring an additional 376,449 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of VLO traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $158.04. The company had a trading volume of 70,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,101,601. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $112.16 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.99. The stock has a market cap of $51.68 billion, a PE ratio of 7.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VLO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.47.

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.