Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Acquired by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,032 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,751,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,121,000 after acquiring an additional 6,278 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $134.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.78.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

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.