Zullo Investment Group Inc. Takes $203,000 Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Zullo Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,509 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 156.6% in the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in Valero Energy by 39.9% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.80.

Valero Energy Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of VLO opened at $158.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.14 billion, a PE ratio of 65.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $178.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.92.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 188.33%.

Valero Energy Company 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.