Financial Counselors Inc. Buys 107 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,897 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $125,000. Potentia Wealth bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $361,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $180,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $104,221,000 after purchasing an additional 522,233 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 16.1% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $131.43 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $133.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.33. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS 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%. 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 dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho dropped their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.