HBW Advisory Services LLC Invests $333,000 in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

HBW Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO – Get Rating) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,627 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Valero Energy by 2,470.0% during the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 257 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 60.6% during the third quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 56.3% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. grew its position in Valero Energy by 123.3% during the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. 79.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 19th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $157.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.38.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $126.37 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $88.16 and a one year high of $150.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $135.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $46.90 billion, a PE ratio of 4.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.65.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The oil and gas company reported $8.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.45 by $1.00. The firm had revenue of $41.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.31 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 13th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.01%.

About Valero Energy

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Valero Energy Corp. engages in the manufacture and marketing of transportation fuels and other petrochemical products. It operates through the following business segments: Refining, Ethanol and Renewable Diesel. The Refining segment consists of refining operations, associated marketing activities, and logistics assets that support its refining operations.