Burney Co. Grows Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Burney Co. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 5.7% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,786 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 82.6% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.5% in the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 6,960 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.6% in the second quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 14,891 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 26.2% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 80,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,543,000 after purchasing an additional 16,654 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Bank of America started coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $138.10 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $131.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $43.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. 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.