Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $132.47 Million in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 1,080,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,469,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tobam bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 196.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $127.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $40.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $132.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.40. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. On average, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.08.

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.