Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Stock Holdings Increased by Grimes & Company Inc.

Grimes & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 22,571 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,226,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,121,000 after purchasing an additional 6,278 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $139.80 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $116.84 and a 1-year high of $184.79. 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 company has a market capitalization of $44.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.93.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

Valero Energy 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.