1,259 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Purchased by Hurley Capital LLC

Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,259 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,886,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,179 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.3% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,699 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 438,949 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $59,271,000 after buying an additional 4,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho dropped 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. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.67.

Valero Energy Stock Down 8.4 %

NYSE VLO opened at $104.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $131.94 and its 200 day moving average is $132.97. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $102.60 and a 1 year 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.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.