Jones Financial Companies Lllp Boosts Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 33.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 95,156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 23,929 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:VLO opened at $128.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $132.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.90. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

About Valero Energy

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.