32,058 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Acquired by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 32,058 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,329,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $174,673,000 after buying an additional 22,571 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $535,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,121,000 after acquiring an additional 6,278 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 136.1% in the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 75,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,143,000 after purchasing an additional 43,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VLO. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.50.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.6 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $132.34 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $136.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.03. The company has a market cap of $41.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

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.