Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,997 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Valero Energy worth $21,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 276.9% during the first 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 buying an additional 7,931,018 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $827,390,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,089,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,217 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 81.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,413,182 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,498,000 after purchasing an additional 633,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $86,647,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $175.42 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $185.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.76.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $183.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $166.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Valero Energy Company 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.