Parcion Private Wealth LLC Takes Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Parcion Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,699 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.4% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $139.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $130.95 and a 200 day moving average of $135.96. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.13 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

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.