O Brien Greene & Co. Inc Boosts Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

O Brien Greene & Co. Inc boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the period. Valero Energy comprises 2.7% of O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $8,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 172,884 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $22,475,000 after acquiring an additional 3,449 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $309,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $662,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 598,764 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $77,839,000 after acquiring an additional 112,178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Scotiabank increased 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. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.36.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE VLO opened at $135.85 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $119.88 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.37. The stock has a market cap of $43.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.40.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.