Amundi Raises Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,488,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,718 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.79% of Valero Energy worth $309,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,751,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,121,000 after acquiring an additional 6,278 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.08.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $127.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.40. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $40.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.