Providence Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 156.6% in the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VLO. Wolfe Research lowered Valero Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Mizuho upped their target price on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.87.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $142.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.18, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.00. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $167.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $137.66 and a 200 day moving average of $130.84.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.74% and a net margin of 0.62%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 188.33%.

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.