Evernest Financial Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Evernest Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 5,125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 9.5% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 26,606 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,171,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 116,120 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $18,203,000 after purchasing an additional 5,295 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $255,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth $763,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $20,826,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VLO. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.54.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $135.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.72. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $116.84 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

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.