Catalina Capital Group LLC Purchases 454 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 25.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,215 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Collective Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.5% during the first quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 4,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,327 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC now owns 14,659 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,502,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aua Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 3.1% during the first quarter. Aua Capital Management LLC now owns 2,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VLO. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Argus downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

Valero Energy stock traded up $2.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $145.87. 1,523,954 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,482,840. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $47.70 billion, a PE ratio of 7.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $151.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.46.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Valero Energy 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.