Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Buys 3,677 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,901 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 3,677 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on VLO shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded up $4.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $146.73. The company had a trading volume of 3,359,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,981,542. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $47.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.51. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $119.88 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

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.