Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Acquires 522 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,716 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tobam bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 196.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $125.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, 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 current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.94. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 53.30%.

Valero Energy 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.