60,942 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Bought by GF Fund Management CO. LTD.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 60,942 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $7,471,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VLO. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,438,000. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,126 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,840 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 57.0% in the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 50,214 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,005,000 after acquiring an additional 18,221 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE VLO traded up $1.04 on Thursday, hitting $127.97. 933,703 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,033,310. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $120.92 and a 200 day moving average of $128.41. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $167.78. The company has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued 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 3.53%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 159.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VLO. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $151.93.

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.