Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Stock Position Lifted by SpiderRock Advisors LLC

SpiderRock Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,389 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 431 shares during the quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after acquiring an additional 192,397 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,018,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,118,000 after buying an additional 56,989 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $440,394,000 after buying an additional 82,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $352,292,000 after buying an additional 65,632 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

VLO opened at $136.69 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $135.89 and a 200-day moving average of $147.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $119.88 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VLO. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.29.

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.