Oppenheimer & Close LLC Makes New $422,000 Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Oppenheimer & Close LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,442 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 457,540 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $56,090,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195 shares during the last quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A increased its position in Valero Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 15,671 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Mosley Wealth Management bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $216,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $27,002,000. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 24,532 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,007,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $152.67.

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Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $133.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,405,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,768,403. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79. 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's 50-day moving average price is $133.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.35. The company has a market capitalization of $41.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.30%.

Valero Energy 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.