Verus Capital Partners LLC Has $353,000 Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,876 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during 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 buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.4% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% during 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 buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $130.59 on Friday. 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. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $132.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.14. The stock has a market cap of $41.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. 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 payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

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.