Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Purchases 5,994 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 212.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,813 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,994 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alaethes Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 11,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,775,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 4.1% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.9% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,018,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,118,000 after purchasing an additional 56,989 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 14.0% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 100,940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,823,000 after purchasing an additional 12,410 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 10.2% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 11,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $135.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.70, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79. 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 50-day moving average price of $145.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.07.

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.