Mustard Seed Financial LLC Purchases New Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Mustard Seed Financial LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy Corporation, purchasing 1,500 shares valued at approximately $202,000 in the 2nd quarter.
• Valero Energy has seen several institutional investments, notably from Vanguard Group Inc., which increased its stake by 12.0% in the first quarter.
• Valero Energy's recent earnings surpassed expectations with $2.28 earnings per share, exceeding analyst predictions by $0.62, although revenue for the quarter decreased by 13.3% compared to the previous year.

Mustard Seed Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,500 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 12.0% during 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,510,586,000 after purchasing an additional 736,533 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 276.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,931,018 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $647,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $529,864,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Citigroup lowered Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lowered 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 research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wolfe Research cut Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $165.00.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $175.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $54.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $148.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.69. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $178.43. 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion for 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. Analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Valero Energy's dividend 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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