Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Purchases 201 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,827 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 24,550 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,010,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 3,517 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,342 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505 shares during the period. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 2,444 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $141.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $131.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $116.84 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.49 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.