American National Bank & Trust Buys 1,463 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

American National Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 53,467 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares during the quarter. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,879 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 1,920 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 109,941 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,116,000 after acquiring an additional 13,815 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 13,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $525,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $128.80 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.22. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $167.78. The stock has a market cap of $40.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 159.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.93.

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.