DMC Group LLC Boosts Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

DMC Group LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,710 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 136 shares during the quarter. DMC Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,220 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 9.7% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 114.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,437 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $995,000 after acquiring an additional 3,964 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,089,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 53,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,005,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on VLO shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.07.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $163.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $50.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $151.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $178.43.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 188.33%.

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.