Patton Fund Management Inc. Makes New $260,000 Investment in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. has made a new investment in Valero Energy Corporation, acquiring 1,933 shares valued at approximately $260,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• Recent findings show that 78.69% of Valero Energy's stock is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Valero Energy reported earnings of $2.28 EPS for its most recent quarter, exceeding expectations, but experienced a 13.3% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,933 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

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.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $175.72 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $178.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $148.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 188.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on VLO shares. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $165.00.

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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