Navellier & Associates Inc. Increases Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 825 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,090,000 after purchasing an additional 50,837 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $639,268,000 after purchasing an additional 247,630 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $499,210,000 after purchasing an additional 487,022 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 6.3% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,533,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $342,090,000 after purchasing an additional 151,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $134.67 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.87. The firm has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.