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

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,674 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $573,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Tobam bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 122.0% in the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $151.93.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $135.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,252,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,032,204. The company has a 50-day moving average of $121.08 and a 200-day moving average of $128.56. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $167.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $42.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.82 EPS. Valero Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 159.72%.

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.