Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Bought by Quad Cities Investment Group LLC

Quad Cities Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $174,673,000 after purchasing an additional 22,571 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,121,000 after buying an additional 6,278 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 136.1% in the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 75,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,143,000 after buying an additional 43,299 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after buying an additional 192,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 5.0 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $133.49 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $131.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.75.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.57.

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.