Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,582 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,090,000 after purchasing an additional 50,837 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 5.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $639,268,000 after purchasing an additional 247,630 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $499,210,000 after purchasing an additional 487,022 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in 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 worth $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 6.3% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,533,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $342,090,000 after purchasing an additional 151,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $135.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.52. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. 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 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.