Kennondale Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Kennondale Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 5,825 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $714,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,693 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 176,431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,823,000 after buying an additional 14,616 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 69.7% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 5,266 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 2,162 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 126.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 46,649 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,299,000 after buying an additional 26,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $134,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VLO. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.08.

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.0 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $133.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $41.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $133.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.68. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.