Financial Management Professionals Inc. Buys 281 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,624 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 10.2% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 11,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 14.0% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 100,940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $15,823,000 after buying an additional 12,410 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,018,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $473,118,000 after acquiring an additional 56,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $141.21 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.