Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. Increases Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 40.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 121,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,100 shares during the period. Valero Energy comprises 2.4% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $16,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.9% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,018,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,118,000 after purchasing an additional 56,989 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $440,394,000 after purchasing an additional 82,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $352,292,000 after acquiring an additional 65,632 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho cut their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.53.

Valero Energy Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE VLO opened at $127.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $137.62 and its 200-day moving average is $149.13. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $119.88 and a one year high of $184.79.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 2.74%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.6 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

About Valero Energy

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.