Lifeworks Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 82.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares during the quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 23.9% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,576 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 368,454 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $49,752,000 after acquiring an additional 3,065 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 25.6% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,358 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $939,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $127.00 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.40. 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. The company has a market cap of $40.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. As a group, analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.08.

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.