Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,581 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,347 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $22,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% during the third quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 4,851 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 4.7% during the third quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $135.00 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.98. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.