SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,158 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11,318.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,923 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $238,841,000 after buying an additional 232,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth $39,517,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $140.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $136.59 and its 200 day moving average is $145.89. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $44.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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