Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Buys 1,722 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $139.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $136.79 and a 200-day moving average of $145.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 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.