Verum Partners LLC Makes New $221,000 Investment in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Verum Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,696 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 1,676.9% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Raymond James increased their target price on Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Mizuho lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.69.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

VLO traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,098,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,481,527. The firm has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.53. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $104.18 and a 52-week high of $172.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $144.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.53.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 31.62%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 15.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a $1.07 dividend. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.31%.

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.