Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 1,475 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $181,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 368,454 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $49,752,000 after purchasing an additional 3,065 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,642 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,415,000 after buying an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. EWG Elevate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $438,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,778 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Valero Energy from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $115.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.53.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $122.97 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $38.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $120.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $167.78.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The company had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 159.72%.

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.