Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Grows Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,536 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 1,896 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 18.5% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 22,402 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,959,000 after buying an additional 3,503 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 8.9% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 46,474 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,138,000 after buying an additional 3,790 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth about $766,000. Sendero Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 11.0% in the first quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,198 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth about $866,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Wolfe Research cut Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.47.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $163.45 on Thursday. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $165.65. The firm has a market cap of $50.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.10, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.08 and a 200 day moving average of $133.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 188.33%.

Valero Energy 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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