Waverly Advisors LLC Purchases 2,433 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 63.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,292 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,433 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 717,587 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $87,969,000 after acquiring an additional 196,580 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 73,273 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,983,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $2,331,000. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 22,820 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,798,000 after purchasing an additional 8,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 37,349 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,579,000 after purchasing an additional 5,115 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.93.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $130.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,426,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,036,636. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $167.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $121.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.41. The stock has a market cap of $40.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 159.72%.

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.