Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Acquired by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,419 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,367 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 11.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,243,630,000 after purchasing an additional 516,975 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,969,320 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $733,660,000 after buying an additional 254,604 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,842,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $702,285,000 after buying an additional 442,177 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $638,695,000 after buying an additional 806,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,058,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $536,074,000 after buying an additional 520,642 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $339.00 to $439.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $450.00 to $530.00 in a report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Freedom Broker downgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $276.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Valero Energy from $485.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $406.32.

Valero Energy News Summary

These are some of the VLO news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Valero for above-average financial growth and included VLO among its Rank #1 (Strong Buy) growth stocks, potentially reinforcing the bullish case for earnings prospects. Article: 3 Reasons Why Growth Investors Shouldn’t Overlook Valero Energy Article: Best Growth Stocks to Buy for November 11th
• Positive Sentiment: The board affirmed Valero’s regular $1.20-per-share quarterly dividend, payable December 21 to shareholders of record November 24. The article also points to discounted heavy crude, favorable freight rates, and renewable-fuels operations as potential business supports. Article: How Investors May Respond to Valero Energy Dividend Affirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: A MarketWatch report said VLO underperformed competitors on Tuesday, a relative-performance note that may weigh on sentiment but does not identify a new company-specific development. Article: Valero Energy Stock Underperforms Tuesday Compared with Competitors

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.9%

Valero Energy stock opened at $364.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19, a PEG ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $399.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.16. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $159.90 and a twelve month high of $461.52.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The oil and gas company reported $23.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $21.17 by $2.73. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 45.90% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $46.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 43.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 58.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.80%.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is an international refiner and producer of transportation fuels and other petroleum products, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its refining business processes crude oil and other feedstocks into products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and petrochemical feedstocks. The company markets and distributes fuels to wholesale customers and through branded distribution networks. Its refining operations span the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with products serving customers in North America and other markets.