Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Increases Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $33,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on VLO. Piper Sandler cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $139.83 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 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 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.