Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Has $3.83 Million Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 31,234 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $28,000. Tobam acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VLO. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 research note 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 research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $134.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.06 and a 200 day moving average of $135.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 53.30%.

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.