Peterson Financial Group Inc. Buys New Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 208 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 7.7% during the third quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 7,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Sather Financial Group Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $431,000. River Street Advisors LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 11,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 176,431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,823,000 after buying an additional 14,616 shares during the period. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,398 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $140.16 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $135.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.42. 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 12 month low of $120.21 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $44.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (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 net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 38.39%.

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.