Twin Tree Management LP Takes $4.32 Million Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Twin Tree Management LP bought 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. The fund bought 35,218 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,317,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,121,000 after buying an additional 6,278 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.08.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $131.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.50 and its 200-day moving average is $133.58.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $1.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.30%.

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.