Patten Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Patten Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,263 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 239,632 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,358,000 after purchasing an additional 14,143 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 929,214 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $125,472,000 after purchasing an additional 37,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,118,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:VLO opened at $127.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $132.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.75. 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 (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VLO. Barclays cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho cut their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

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.