Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 34.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,617 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $174,673,000 after purchasing an additional 22,571 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,121,000 after purchasing an additional 6,278 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 136.1% in the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 75,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,143,000 after purchasing an additional 43,299 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,090,532,000 after buying an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 20,802 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 3,934 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO traded up $6.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $133.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,101,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,757,841. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $130.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.49 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.39%.

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.