Captrust Financial Advisors Raises Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 47.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 132,078 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,316 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in Valero Energy were worth $16,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $669,400,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 16.1% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 4,805,133 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $132,469,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Valero Energy by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,850,859 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $472,077,000 after purchasing an additional 529,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,864,418 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $351,151,000 after purchasing an additional 525,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of VLO traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $122.97. 2,167,258 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,022,168. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $167.78. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $120.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The business had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.82 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 159.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Valero Energy from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $115.00 to $127.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.53.

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.