Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 2,190.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,134 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,155,522 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 736,533 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Valero Energy by 276.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after acquiring an additional 7,931,018 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $647,823,000 after buying an additional 1,247,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at $529,864,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Valero Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (up from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $183.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.27.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $175.22 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $53.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $179.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.56.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.36%.

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.