Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Grows Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,175 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 980 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective 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. Piper Sandler cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $140.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.81. 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 results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.39%.

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.