Paloma Partners Management Co Has $2.94 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 68.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,735 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,804 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 462.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 16,733 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,856,000 after buying an additional 13,759 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $494,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,444 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VLO. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Valero Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded up $0.01 during trading on Monday, reaching $139.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,136,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,917,779. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.49 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 3.08%. 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.