Fortem Financial Group LLC Buys 426 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,998 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $174,673,000 after acquiring an additional 22,571 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Valero Energy by 7.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,278 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 136.1% in the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 75,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,143,000 after purchasing an additional 43,299 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 20,802 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,809,000 after buying an additional 3,934 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock traded down $2.54 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $121.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,404,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,786,959. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $38.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.46 and a 200 day moving average of $139.86. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut 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 report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.07.

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.