Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by OneAscent Wealth Management LLC

OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,849 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 284 shares during the quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $132,469,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 159.3% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 850,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $104,221,000 after buying an additional 522,233 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

VLO opened at $131.43 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.31. The firm has a market cap of $41.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.67.

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.