Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys Shares of 13,966 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased 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. The institutional investor purchased 13,966 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,886,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 196.8% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $133.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.70. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $42.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.86.

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.