Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Stock Position Boosted by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,106 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tobam bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 122.0% in the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on VLO shares. Mizuho dropped their price target 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. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $110.59 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.70. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $174.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, 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 current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $1.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

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.