B&L Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 6,831 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

B&L Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 6,831 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $34,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $139.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $44.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $136.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.28. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week 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.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for 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%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.