Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,759,172 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 71,587 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $583,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 483,740 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $59,302,000 after purchasing an additional 3,456 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 106,985 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,393,000 after acquiring an additional 10,134 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,102 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,808,000. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,172,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $132.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $41.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $133.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.30. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued 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 yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.67.

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.