Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,708 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,829 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $206,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 2.2% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,464 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $753,000. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 86,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,710,000 after purchasing an additional 3,167 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 971.1% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,512 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after buying an additional 5,904 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $139.82 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $44.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.56.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

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.