Wedbush Securities Inc. Sells 4,269 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Wedbush Securities Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 37.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,269 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tobam acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC increased 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on VLO shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.67.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $104.64 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $131.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.92. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $100.50 and a 12 month high of $183.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.