Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $283,000 Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 196.8% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Down 3.0 %

VLO stock opened at $135.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.72. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. Equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.54.

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.