Heck Capital Advisors LLC Takes $525,000 Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,281 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $525,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 22,571 shares during the period. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the third 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Piper Sandler raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $132.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $130.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.60. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $42.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. 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 (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. 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 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.39%.

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.