Larson Financial Group LLC Increases Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,279 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $132,469,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in 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 valued at $85,217,000 after buying an additional 568,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $70,352,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of 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, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.08.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $127.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $132.76 and a 200 day moving average of $134.34. The company has a market cap of $40.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.30%.

Valero Energy Company 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.