Polianta Ltd Takes $1.05 Million Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Polianta Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,053,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after purchasing an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after buying an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 17.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $238,841,000 after buying an additional 232,494 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $39,517,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,145,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $179,490,000 after acquiring an additional 194,974 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE VLO opened at $142.34 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $141.01 and its 200 day moving average is $152.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $119.88 and a 1 year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler downgraded Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.60.

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.