Moors & Cabot Inc. Raises Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 13.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,954 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,247 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at $729,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 3.0% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,279,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $971,197,000 after purchasing an additional 240,664 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Valero Energy by 9.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,118,486 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $483,091,000 after purchasing an additional 347,029 shares during the period. 77.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Down 3.8 %

VLO stock opened at $121.91 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.50 billion, a PE ratio of 4.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $104.18 and a 12 month high of $152.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The oil and gas company reported $7.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.36 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $38.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.46 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 39.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 16th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 13.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on VLO. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $113.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $142.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $168.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.64.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.