Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Increases Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,680 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. AXS Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $258.27 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.65. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $130.78 and a 12-month high of $265.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $76.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.