Kathmere Capital Management LLC Makes New $247,000 Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,109 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 22.8% during the second quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 10,819 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 7,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,059 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,236,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,686 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Kwmg LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 6.7% during the second quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 85,768 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,061,000 after acquiring an additional 5,406 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph W. Gorder sold 75,580 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.99, for a total value of $10,278,124.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 621,872 shares in the company, valued at $84,568,373.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $150.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $160.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 15th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.44.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $143.68 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $50.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.61. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $97.73 and a one year high of $150.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $34.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.37 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 42.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $11.36 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.41 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 2nd. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.