Wedmont Private Capital Grows Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,580 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,389,090,000 after buying an additional 50,837 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $639,268,000 after purchasing an additional 247,630 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after buying an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price target on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $134.18 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $42.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $131.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.59.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.49 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.