Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Valero Energy worth $4,257,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in 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 buying an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $132,469,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,217,000 after purchasing an additional 568,000 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $70,352,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $499,210,000 after buying an additional 487,022 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $132.00 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $1.13 dividend. This is a positive change 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 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.