Horizon Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Horizon Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,116 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 149 shares during the quarter. Horizon Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $135.10 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.57. The company has a market capitalization of $42.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

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.