21,185 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Purchased by Threadgill Financial LLC

Threadgill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 21,185 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,000. Valero Energy makes up approximately 1.8% of Threadgill Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,005,346 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $142,468,000 after purchasing an additional 55,351 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,569,000 after acquiring an additional 342,218 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Valero Energy by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 645,726 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $83,867,000 after acquiring an additional 18,575 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 83,290 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,803,000 after purchasing an additional 7,910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NatWest Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $3,325,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Mizuho lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.69.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $167.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $144.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.53. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $104.18 and a twelve month high of $172.46.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 31.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.45 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 15.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 17.31%.

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.