Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Trading Up 5.9% – Here’s What Happened

Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) shares shot up 5.9% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $134.70 and last traded at $134.70. 1,160,939 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 2,148,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VLO. TD Cowen reduced their price target 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. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $42.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $131.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.59.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its 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. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after buying an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,923 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,217,000 after acquiring an additional 568,000 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 18.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $70,352,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.