EdgeRock Capital LLC Acquires New Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,505 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,443 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 63.8% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 395,684 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $51,439,000 after acquiring an additional 154,141 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $572,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Argus cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

VLO stock traded up $2.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $145.87. 1,523,954 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,482,840. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $151.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.46. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $119.88 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The company has a market cap of $47.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

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.