Empower Advisory Group LLC Purchases 13,700 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 495,931 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,700 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned about 0.15% of Valero Energy worth $66,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,754 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,176,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $949,000. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in Valero Energy by 8.0% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 10,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VLO. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $137.02 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $43.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $135.71 and a 200-day moving average of $147.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 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.