Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 32.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Tobam purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 196.8% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.08.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $127.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio 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.