Retirement Guys Formula LLC Buys 388 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,652 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Retirement Guys Formula LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 22,571 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $136.90 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.90. 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 stock has a market cap of $43.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. Research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 53.30%.

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.