Oppenheimer & Close LLC Purchases New Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Oppenheimer & Close LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,442 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,311,864,000 after acquiring an additional 413,963 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $639,268,000 after purchasing an additional 247,630 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 13.6% in the 4th 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. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in 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 buying an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,533,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $342,090,000 after buying an additional 151,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VLO. Mizuho cut their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.08.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $131.42 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $133.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $41.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.