Sciencast Management LP Makes New Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 6,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Valero Energy Stock Down 2.5 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $131.42 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $133.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

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, topping 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, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. 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 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.