1,772 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Purchased by Cullen Investment Group LTD.

Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,772 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,649,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 273,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $38,725,000 after buying an additional 46,957 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 78.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 40,343 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,717,000 after buying an additional 17,744 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 53,843 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 15th. Finally, Argus lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.33.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $149.94 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $159.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.84. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $108.28 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $49.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.27 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

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.