HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Takes $417,000 Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,443 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $417,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $570,428,000. Putnam Investments LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $447,957,000 after buying an additional 122,207 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,569,000 after buying an additional 342,218 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after buying an additional 376,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,541,534 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $263,124,000 after buying an additional 35,043 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Argus lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $179.00 to $156.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target for the company. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of VLO stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $148.33. 1,582,355 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,910,159. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $119.09 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The company’s 50 day moving average is $154.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $48.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.73 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

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.