Edgestream Partners L.P. Buys New Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,023 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $2,299,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLO. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $145,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,923 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Valero Energy by 900.2% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $85,217,000 after buying an additional 568,000 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $677,007,000 after buying an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 17.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,010 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $238,841,000 after acquiring an additional 232,494 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Valero Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America started coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE VLO traded down $2.64 on Tuesday, reaching $137.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,070,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,921,504. The company's fifty day moving average is $137.11 and its 200-day moving average is $144.86. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.49 earnings per share. Valero Energy's quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders 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 3.11%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 38.39%.

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.