MCF Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 38.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,044 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,263,000. United Services Automobile Association increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.7% in the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 68,728 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,739,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Fusion Capital LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fusion Capital LLC now owns 36,791 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,214,000 after buying an additional 4,576 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 40,001 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,667,000 after buying an additional 7,002 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,025,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $287,098,000 after buying an additional 133,689 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on VLO. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.00.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $156.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.29. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $112.16 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.27 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Valero Energy 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.