8,707 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Acquired by GSA Capital Partners LLP

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 8,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $140.02 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $44.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results 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 for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

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.