Neo Ivy Capital Management Invests $2.10 Million in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Key Points

• Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired 15,890 shares of Valero Energy Corporation, valued at approximately $2,099,000, marking a new position in the company during the first quarter.
• Valero Energy's stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with TD Cowen downgrading it to "hold," while Goldman Sachs upgraded it to "buy" and raised the price target from $127.00 to $154.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.18%, with a payout ratio exceeding 159%.

Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 15,890 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $2,099,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $669,400,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 15,395.5% in the 1st 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. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $98,376,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,850,859 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $472,077,000 after purchasing an additional 529,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,864,418 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $351,151,000 after purchasing an additional 525,255 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Citigroup lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $155.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $153.87.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO traded up $1.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $142.03. 2,786,874 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,458,177. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.48 billion, a PE ratio of 59.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $137.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.81. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $167.78.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.74%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.