Global Retirement Partners LLC Acquires 645 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,697 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,751,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $12,121,000 after acquiring an additional 6,278 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of several research reports. 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. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $134.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $116.84 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced 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 net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.