Convergence Investment Partners LLC Has $2.58 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 33.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,494 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,860 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,257,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,805,133 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $973,119,000 after purchasing an additional 429,252 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,871,229 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $844,775,000 after purchasing an additional 100,248 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $669,400,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,759,172 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $583,427,000 after acquiring an additional 71,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VLO. UBS Group raised their target price on Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wolfe Research cut Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $153.87.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO traded up $1.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $142.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,786,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,458,177. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $167.78. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $137.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.00.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.74% 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 previous year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 159.72%.

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.