Foster & Motley Inc. Grows Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Foster & Motley Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,264 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 22,571 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,121,000 after buying an additional 6,278 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $135.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.72. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-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. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. 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 payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.54.

About Valero Energy

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.