Symmetry Investments LP Acquires Shares of 1,644 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Symmetry Investments LP bought a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,644 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 198.8% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 11,047 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth about $15,945,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,586 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 5,209 shares during the last quarter. Bollard Group LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 58,968 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,666,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,167 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,302,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler cut Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday. Mizuho reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.07.

Valero Energy Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $134.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $119.88 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $145.42 and a 200 day moving average of $155.13.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.