Lingohr Asset Management GmbH Lowers Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Lingohr Asset Management GmbH significantly reduced its holdings in Valero Energy by 84.7%, selling 19,000 shares to end up with 3,434 shares valued at $462,000.
• Major hedge funds like Price T Rowe Associates and Vanguard Group have increased their positions in Valero Energy, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Valero Energy's stock received a buy rating upgrade from Bank of America, raising its target price from $152 to $179, reflecting positive analyst sentiment despite recent revenue declines.

Lingohr Asset Management GmbH reduced its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 84.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,434 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 19,000 shares during the period. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $462,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% in the first 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $529,864,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,346,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 34.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $647,823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,196 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $152.00 to $179.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. 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 on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $158.87.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $156.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $48.70 billion, a PE ratio of 65.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.10. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $163.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.92.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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