V Square Quantitative Management LLC Grows Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,286 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Merchants Corp grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 17,691 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Valero Energy by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,529 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,027 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. IMS Capital Management purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $266,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Valero Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,751,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target 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 decreased 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $135.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.67. The firm has a market cap of $42.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 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.