XTX Topco Ltd Purchases New Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 19,062 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,574,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 11.7% during the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,028 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 37.3% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 1,174 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 15,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Valero Energy by 4.0% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 62,313 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,768,000 after buying an additional 2,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 23.2% during the second quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 13,808 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,165,000 after buying an additional 2,601 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $131.50 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $137.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.70. 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 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $41.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.89 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.