National Bank of Canada FI Has $18.12 Million Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 42.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,116 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,119,000 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. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,135,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155,522 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 15,395.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $179,047,000 after buying an additional 1,346,950 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $98,376,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,510,586,000 after acquiring an additional 736,533 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,850,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $472,077,000 after acquiring an additional 529,513 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Valero Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.47.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $131.80 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $155.12. The company has a market cap of $40.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.92, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $139.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.