Quest Partners LLC Takes Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced 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 report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $138.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.39. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $136.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.47.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.49 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 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 issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio 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.