HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Buys 14,916 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 38.5%, owning a total of 53,662 shares valued at approximately $7,087,000 after purchasing an additional 14,916 shares in the first quarter.
• Valero Energy reported earnings of $2.28 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates by $0.62 and generating revenue of $29.89 billion, which was higher than expected.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 188.33%.

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 38.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,662 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 14,916 shares during the quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,135,043,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155,522 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $529,864,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 15,395.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $179,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346,950 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 34.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $647,823,000 after buying an additional 1,247,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $98,376,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $155.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.47.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $136.73 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.74. The firm has a market cap of $42.48 billion, a PE ratio of 56.97, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.03. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $155.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%. The company's 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 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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