Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 120,652 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 121.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 220,387 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 120,652 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $27,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 82.6% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 26.2% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 80,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,543,000 after acquiring an additional 16,654 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 38,442 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 38,347 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,008,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, Mathes Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 23,245 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,644,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $139.51 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.59. 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 (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

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.