Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Position Boosted by Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,504 shares during the quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE VLO opened at $139.83 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $44.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.68.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.