Hourglass Capital LLC Purchases 1,350 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Hourglass Capital LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,830 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Hourglass Capital LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 5.0% in the third 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 grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $135.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $130.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.52. 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.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date 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 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.