Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. Takes $548,000 Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,366 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,909 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 12,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $254.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $241.10 and a 200 day moving average of $203.74. The firm has a market cap of $75.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $125.10 and a 1 year high of $263.75.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $182.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.