Sunpointe LLC Boosts Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Sunpointe LLC increased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,421 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 4,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,005,346 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $142,468,000 after purchasing an additional 55,351 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc raised its position in Valero Energy by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 7,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 198.8% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 11,047 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,569,000 after purchasing an additional 342,218 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE VLO traded up $3.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $153.74. 4,862,431 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,140,818. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $50.27 billion, a PE ratio of 7.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.80. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $111.14 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.00.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.