Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Bought by Archer Investment Corp

Archer Investment Corp raised its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1,000.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 935 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the quarter. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $570,428,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $310,655,000 after acquiring an additional 376,449 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 721.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 337,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,927,000 after acquiring an additional 296,771 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,580,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.50.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $139.63 on Thursday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $119.88 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $45.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $149.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.64.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Valero Energy Company 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.