499 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Purchased by Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC

Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,693 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 176,431 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,823,000 after buying an additional 14,616 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 69.7% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 5,266 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 2,162 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 126.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 46,649 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,299,000 after buying an additional 26,044 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $134,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price objective 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, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.08.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $133.03 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $133.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.68. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $41.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.