Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1,773.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,049 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler cut Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.07.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.8 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $132.81 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $144.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $42.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $119.88 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

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.