Lingohr Asset Management GmbH Acquires 19,000 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Lingohr Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 553.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the quarter. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 70.2% in the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Valero Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — Valero posted adjusted EPS of $3.82 vs. consensus ~$3.27 and reported higher refining margins that lifted profitability. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Record throughput and operational strength highlighted on the earnings call — management cited record throughput that supports margin recovery and cash generation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Piper Sandler raised its price target to $220 and set an “overweight” rating, signaling ~21% upside versus recent levels and reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analyst moves mixed — Morgan Stanley increased its target to $180 (below some peers’ targets and close to current levels), showing varied analyst views on near-term upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply actions — Valero said it will buy Venezuelan crude from three authorized sellers; operationally notable but carries geopolitical/supply considerations rather than immediate earnings surprises. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting margin and revenue notes — analysts and reports flagged weaker renewable-diesel margins and a small (-1.2%) y/y revenue decline; Valero’s net margin remained modest, which could limit multiple expansion despite the EPS beat. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, December 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.53.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $181.70 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $194.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.61. The company has a market capitalization of $55.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.Valero Energy’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 94.36%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.