Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $28,000. Tobam acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 196.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $38,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho decreased their price target 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. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of VLO stock opened at $130.59 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. 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 50-day simple moving average of $132.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.23.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend 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.