NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Boosts Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,717 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,813 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $14,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VLO. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,878 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,497 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:VLO traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $134.04. 3,758,276 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,036,156. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $167.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $122.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.48.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 159.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VLO. Barclays lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $151.93.

Valero Energy 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.