Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Acquires 2,963 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 30,528 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,963 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 196.8% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $125.21 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.36. The company has a market cap of $39.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.