Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,997 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $21,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth about $26,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Kiker Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 466.1% during the 2nd quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC now owns 334 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $166.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.00.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.1%

VLO stock opened at $175.42 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $185.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.66 and its 200 day moving average is $153.76. 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 has a market cap of $53.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.76.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The business had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 94.36%.

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.