Xponance Inc. Acquires 2,070 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,807 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Valero Energy by 721.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 337,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,927,000 after purchasing an additional 296,771 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $39,517,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,145,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $179,490,000 after buying an additional 194,974 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.07.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:VLO opened at $135.18 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $119.88 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $44.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.11.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.