Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Acquires Shares of 11,401 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,401 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,414,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 30,528 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,963 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 13,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after buying an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. Collective Family Office LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 5,272 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 10,998 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,521 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $125.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $131.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.26. The company has a market capitalization of $39.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

Valero Energy Company 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.