Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,666 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Silver Coast Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,878 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VLO. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.67.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:VLO opened at $133.77 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.30. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $42.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

About Valero Energy

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.