JCIC Asset Management Inc. Acquires 710 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,734 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 710 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy accounts for approximately 2.4% of JCIC Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. JCIC Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $174,673,000 after purchasing an additional 22,571 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,121,000 after acquiring an additional 6,278 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 136.1% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 75,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,143,000 after purchasing an additional 43,299 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after buying an additional 192,397 shares during the period. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 23.3% in the third quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 20,802 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 3,934 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock traded up $6.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $133.46. 3,706,560 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,555,199. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $130.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.89. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $42.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.57.

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.