Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,034 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 749 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $145,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,923 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,217,000 after acquiring an additional 568,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 18.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $70,352,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $134.67 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $131.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.87. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.