10,000 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Bought by Kieckhefer Group LLC

Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,226,000. Valero Energy accounts for approximately 0.7% of Kieckhefer Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,389,090,000 after acquiring an additional 50,837 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $639,268,000 after buying an additional 247,630 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $677,007,000 after buying an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $484,105,000 after acquiring an additional 567,059 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on VLO. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company 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 on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO traded up $6.34 on Monday, hitting $133.49. 5,177,947 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,759,177. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $130.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.89. 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 Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.39%.

Valero Energy Company 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.