Entropy Technologies LP Purchases New Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 7,030 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $949,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. StockNews.com cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $139.55 on Thursday. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Valero Energy Company 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.