SouthState Corp Boosts Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

SouthState Corp grew its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7,599.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,652 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 40,124 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tobam purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $129.20 on Monday. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, 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.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced 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 net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.