Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Stake Raised by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 784,278 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,044 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank owned about 0.25% of Valero Energy worth $96,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,257,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $132,469,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 159.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 850,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $104,221,000 after acquiring an additional 522,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.67.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $133.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.30. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. 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.