Skylands Capital LLC Takes $2.15 Million Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Skylands Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,550 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,151,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 12,382 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,672,000 after acquiring an additional 2,438 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 102,703 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,868,000 after acquiring an additional 4,383 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 123.7% in the 3rd quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 13,487 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 3,669 shares during the period. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 71.5% in the 3rd quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 8,135 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 3,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VLO. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $134.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.69. The company has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s 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.