Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Stock Position Increased by Venture Visionary Partners LLC

Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 79.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,745 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,322 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 15.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $21,770,000 after purchasing an additional 21,997 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 8.9% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 46,474 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,571 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after buying an additional 2,199 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $866,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,436,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $193,129,000 after buying an additional 244,675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $162.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $171.21 and a 200-day moving average of $155.19. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $185.62.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The business had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Valero Energy from $201.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.20.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.