Argent Trust Co Buys 12,546 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Argent Trust Co increased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 126.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,504 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 12,546 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 17.4% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 160,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,377,000 after purchasing an additional 23,859 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $21,770,000 after buying an additional 21,997 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,534,000. Tema Etfs LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,669,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 9.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 104,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,853,000 after acquiring an additional 8,638 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $204.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $185.80 and its 200 day moving average is $171.96. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $206.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $62.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 62.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.67.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.