Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 178,293 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 5,203 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $21,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VLO. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Tobam purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 122.0% in the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

VLO stock opened at $106.43 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $183.38. The company has a market capitalization of $33.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $131.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.69.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, 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 represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 53.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VLO. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.67.

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.