4,071 Shares in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Bought by Avior Wealth Management LLC

Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,071 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $663,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,576,035,000 after acquiring an additional 286,942 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,273,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $897,869,000 after purchasing an additional 249,195 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after buying an additional 209,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,381,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $331,415,000 after acquiring an additional 77,070 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.20.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $240.26 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $71.84 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $247.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $203.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.01.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.