Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Bought by Intact Investment Management Inc.

Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 37.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 29,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 8,050 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,311,864,000 after acquiring an additional 413,963 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 247,630 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $499,210,000 after acquiring an additional 487,022 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,533,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $342,090,000 after acquiring an additional 151,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.08.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $129.20 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.84. The company has a market cap of $40.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 53.30%.

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.