Acadian Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 2.6%, acquiring an additional 2,609 shares, bringing its total holdings to 103,364 shares worth approximately $13.64 million.
• Valero Energy reported earnings of $2.28 per share, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching $29.89 billion compared to forecasts of $27 billion.
• Research analysts have mixed ratings on Valero Energy, with several recent changes including TD Cowen downgrading the stock to a "hold" rating while raising the price target from $118 to $140.

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,364 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 276.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,425,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,931,018 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,135,043,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155,522 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $529,864,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 15,395.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $179,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,950 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $647,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,196 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. TD Cowen cut shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup cut Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.87.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $157.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.65, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $163.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $144.98 and a 200 day moving average of $132.71.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.Valero Energy's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 188.33%.

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.

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