Norges Bank Buys Shares of 5,460,480 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,460,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,400,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $132,469,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 159.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 850,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $104,221,000 after purchasing an additional 522,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth about $70,352,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.67.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $133.14 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The stock 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.