Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Boosts Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,270 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc owned about 0.06% of Valero Energy worth $24,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $15,945,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $174,673,000 after purchasing an additional 22,571 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $535,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 223.1% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,796 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after purchasing an additional 7,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 42,716 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,696,000 after purchasing an additional 8,198 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

VLO opened at $137.02 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $135.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $43.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.86.

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.