GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Acquires New Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 60,942 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,471,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,751,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,311,864,000 after acquiring an additional 413,963 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 372,451 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $45,659,000 after acquiring an additional 25,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 94,892 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,633,000 after purchasing an additional 6,095 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $128.63 on Friday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $167.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $121.20 and a 200-day moving average of $128.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 159.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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 decreased their price target 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. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $151.93.

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.