Generali Investments Management Co LLC Acquires New Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,202 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Tobam bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 196.8% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.08.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $131.97 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $41.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $1.13 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

Valero Energy 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.