GAMMA Investing LLC Has $179.05 Million Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 15,395.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,346,950 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.43% of Valero Energy worth $179,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $14,751,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $277,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,311,864,000 after buying an additional 413,963 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 372,451 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $45,659,000 after buying an additional 25,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 16,056 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,920,000 after buying an additional 3,004 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho upped their price target 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. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $151.93.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of VLO traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $126.78. 1,845,421 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,031,114. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $120.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.94. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $167.78. The stock has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The business had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 159.72%.

Valero Energy Company 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.