Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC Acquires 624 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 624 shares during the quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in 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 worth $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,923 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Valero Energy by 900.2% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,217,000 after purchasing an additional 568,000 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 18.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $70,352,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $140.54 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $130.82 and a 200 day moving average of $137.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given 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 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.46.

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.