Panagora Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4,044.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 244,546 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 238,645 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $39,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Valero Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter worth $528,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 11.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,165,000 after acquiring an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.59.

Valero Energy Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $247.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $73.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $130.78 and a 1 year high of $265.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $245.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.33.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Valero Energy Company 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.