Xponance Inc. Purchases 6,124 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 8.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 74,763 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,124 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $12,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Valero Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.7% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,814 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 2.0% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,518 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE VLO opened at $204.49 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $206.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $185.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.70. The stock has a market cap of $62.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.77.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 62.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.67.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.