Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Has $5.92 Million Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Valero Energy makes up approximately 2.4% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 16,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 9,425 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Mizuho lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.69.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE VLO traded up $1.03 on Thursday, reaching $168.84. The company had a trading volume of 884,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,437,710. The firm has a market cap of $56.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $104.18 and a fifty-two week high of $172.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $144.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.53.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.60. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. The company had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 15.66 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.31%.

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.