Virtu Financial LLC Takes $2.02 Million Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,850 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,023,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $570,428,000. Putnam Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 122,207 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 376,449 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $352,292,000 after purchasing an additional 65,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after purchasing an additional 426,093 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Argus cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.00.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 5.0 %

NYSE VLO traded down $7.89 on Friday, hitting $148.56. 3,449,336 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,071,523. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $153.37 and a 200 day moving average of $153.88. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $119.88 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $48.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.