Transform Wealth LLC Purchases Shares of 2,379 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Transform Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,379 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after buying an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 11,318.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $145,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,923 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,217,000 after buying an additional 568,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth about $70,352,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of VLO opened at $139.50 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.08. The company has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. 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 is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on VLO. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.57.

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.