B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Purchases New Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 40,748 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,502,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $78,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 71.7% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,321 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after buying an additional 4,309 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at $773,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,143 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,533,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $142.01 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $136.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 38.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America started coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.86.

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.