Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Purchases 395 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VLO shares. Scotiabank cut their target price 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. Piper Sandler lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.29.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

VLO opened at $129.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $41.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $136.43 and its 200 day moving average is $148.06. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $119.88 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its 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. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Valero Energy 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.