North Forty Two & Co. Takes Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

North Forty Two & Co. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,375 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $414,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,169,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Silver Coast Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Valero Energy Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded down $3.41 on Friday, reaching $131.42. 6,736,251 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,765,665. The company has a market capitalization of $41.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $133.96 and a 200 day moving average of $133.43. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 an increase from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of 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 decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $156.08.

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.