Yousif Capital Management LLC Buys 425 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 52,379 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VLO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the third 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11,318.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $145,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,923 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Valero Energy by 900.2% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,217,000 after purchasing an additional 568,000 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 18.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $70,352,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho decreased 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Down 4.5 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $134.20 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $130.86 and its 200 day moving average is $137.33. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio 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.