Drive Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,392 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 4,851 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 1.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $139.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $44.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $131.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.87.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 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 company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.49 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VLO. Mizuho cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.54.

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.