Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Acquired by Segment Wealth Management LLC

Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 196.8% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $50,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $139.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $44.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $131.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.08.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

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.