Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $282,000 Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,088 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 298 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VLO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Mizuho lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $140.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $135.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.70. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 posted $7.49 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.