Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC decreased its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,386 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth 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 worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.3 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $141.21 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $131.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.48. The stock has a market cap of $44.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. 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.