Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 790 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 49,746 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Essential Planning LLC. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,044,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,296 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,218 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 13,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 42,371 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,194,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

VLO stock opened at $125.79 on Friday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.94.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 53.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VLO. Mizuho dropped 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. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.08.

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.