Natixis Advisors LLC Has $21.25 Million Position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.7%, now owning 160,901 shares valued at approximately $21.25 million.
• Valero Energy recently reported earnings of $2.28 per share, significantly surpassing analyst expectations and yielding a quarterly revenue of $29.89 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, with a resulting annualized dividend of $4.52 and a yield of 3.4%.

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 160,901 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 2,667 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of Valero Energy worth $21,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,675 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,459 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 72.6% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,904 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 3,324 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $560,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc grew its stake in Valero Energy by 151.5% in the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 89,771 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $11,856,000 after buying an additional 54,075 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VLO. TD Cowen lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.47.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO traded up $1.98 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $135.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,920,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,402,946. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $155.12. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $138.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.07. 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 market capitalization of $41.99 billion, a PE ratio of 56.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.03.

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 company had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. Valero Energy's revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 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.