Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Bought by Farmers Trust Co.

Farmers Trust Co. increased its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1,019.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,148 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 28,365 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,351 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 53.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,049 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $145,000. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $129.20 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $120.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $167.78.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 159.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VLO. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.93.

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.