Allstate Corp Invests $1.17 Million in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,563 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,172,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 16.1% in 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 boosted its position 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 worth $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,469,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 159.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 850,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $104,221,000 after buying an additional 522,233 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $131.43 on Monday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $116.84 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $41.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.31.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 53.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho dropped their target price 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price target 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. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.67.

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.