Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $283,000 Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $174,673,000 after purchasing an additional 22,571 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,121,000 after acquiring an additional 6,278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America began coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Mizuho cut 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, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.54.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $135.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $131.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.72. The stock has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. As a group, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 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.