Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Bought by Archford Capital Strategies LLC

Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,407 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 54,702 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,706,000 after acquiring an additional 3,077 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 4,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,980 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 175.8% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,446 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 7,934 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,628 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VLO. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America began coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $139.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.93. 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 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.49 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.