31,500 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Bought by Thomist Capital Management LP

Thomist Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 31,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,767,000. Valero Energy makes up 0.9% of Thomist Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 31,557.1% during the fourth quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in Valero Energy by 350.0% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 55,196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,766,000 after purchasing an additional 42,931 shares in the last quarter. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC now owns 189,019 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,172,000 after purchasing an additional 71,973 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 121,519 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $464,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $135.76 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 market cap of $42.52 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.08 and its 200 day moving average is $128.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 159.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $151.93.

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.