Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Inspire Advisors LLC

Inspire Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,748 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 176 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $575,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $123.05 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79. 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 stock has a market cap of $38.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.06.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued 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 net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.08.

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.