Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 43,844 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 43,844 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,920,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter worth $15,945,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $174,673,000 after acquiring an additional 22,571 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $535,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 23.7% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 42,716 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,696,000 after acquiring an additional 8,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 402.7% in the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 17,303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,987,000 after purchasing an additional 13,861 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $140.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The company has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $136.59 and its 200 day moving average is $145.97.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VLO. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.