Main Street Research LLC Purchases Shares of 1,811 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Main Street Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $127.00 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $40.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.08.

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.