Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 908 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,444 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 908 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 4,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 7,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 198.8% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 11,047 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 214.4% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 14,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 9,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 188.0% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,541 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 3,617 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE VLO traded down $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $148.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,113,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,058,549. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $48.48 billion, a PE ratio of 7.35, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $152.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.67.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VLO shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.