Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Makes New Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,909 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $639,268,000 after acquiring an additional 247,630 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 43.6% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 20,642 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,272 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $342,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,609,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,245 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.50.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $129.14 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $136.27 and a 200 day moving average of $143.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $124.02 and a 1 year high of $184.79. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $40.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.