Quest Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 5,096 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.87.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $162.00 on Thursday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $105.66 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $52.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $166.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.27 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.