Wesbanco Bank Inc. Purchases 653 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,126 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 196.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen dropped 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. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Stock Up 4.2 %

VLO opened at $140.75 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.27 and a 200-day moving average of $137.96. The company has a market capitalization of $44.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.39%.

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.