Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Purchased by Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC

Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 43.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 995 shares during the quarter. Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $404,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,389,090,000 after buying an additional 50,837 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $639,268,000 after purchasing an additional 247,630 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after buying an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho reduced their price target 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. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. 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. Bank of America started coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $135.00 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $131.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.98.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business 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 posted $7.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.