Cwm LLC Grows Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Cwm LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,997 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 3,998 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $8,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,576,035,000 after acquiring an additional 286,942 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 16.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,089,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,217 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at about $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 3.0% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,024,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $675,369,000 after buying an additional 148,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,381,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $331,415,000 after buying an additional 77,070 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $201.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.9%

VLO stock opened at $165.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $50.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.32. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $185.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.36%.

About Valero Energy

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.