SageView Advisory Group LLC Grows Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 58.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,512 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 928 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Tobam purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 122.0% in the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $107.54 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $171.23. 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 $33.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $126.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 53.30%.

Valero Energy Company 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.