Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $456,000 Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,716 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Silver Coast Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $125.79 on Friday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. 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.