Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Acquires 2,963 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,528 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,963 shares during the quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 1,066,923 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,217,000 after acquiring an additional 568,000 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 567,059 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,352,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $125.21 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.36. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy 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.