American National Bank & Trust Has $7.06 Million Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

American National Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,467 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,805,133 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 15,395.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $179,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,950 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $132,469,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $98,376,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $128.80 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $167.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $40.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $120.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.22.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 159.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho upped their price target on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays increased their price target on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $151.93.

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.