LRT Capital Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

LRT Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 5,137 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $630,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Tobam acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 122.0% during the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.0%

Valero Energy stock opened at $122.97 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $167.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 159.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.53.

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.