Viking Fund Management LLC Acquires 13,000 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 68.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 212.6% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 8,813 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,994 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 68,324 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,710,000 after buying an additional 6,638 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 456.6% during the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 2,753 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 56,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,927,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 3.1% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 67,807 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VLO. Barclays reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $139.50 on Wednesday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $131.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. 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 3.24%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.39%.

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.