Erste Asset Management GmbH Makes New Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 90,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,261,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,389,090,000 after purchasing an additional 50,837 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,090,532,000 after acquiring an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after acquiring an additional 237,347 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 18.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,105,000 after acquiring an additional 567,059 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Valero Energy by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $440,394,000 after purchasing an additional 82,539 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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 cut their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho cut their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $139.08 on Monday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. 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.