Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. Acquires New Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,893 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,751,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,121,000 after buying an additional 6,278 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $134.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.87.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced 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 return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.