Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Acquires Shares of 4,674 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,674 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $573,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $132,469,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,850,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $472,077,000 after purchasing an additional 529,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,864,418 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $351,151,000 after purchasing an additional 525,255 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.93.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $135.33 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $167.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $120.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 159.72%.

Valero Energy Company 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.