Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Bought by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,458 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $384,907,000 after buying an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $132,469,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 159.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 850,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $104,221,000 after acquiring an additional 522,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,352,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $133.14 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. 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 (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.13 dividend. 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 3.39%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Mizuho reduced 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.67.

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.