Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Purchases 455 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 455 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $14,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Valero Energy by 6.4% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $135.49 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $42.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $116.84 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.