1,213 Shares in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Bought by Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC

Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 4,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,005,346 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $142,468,000 after acquiring an additional 55,351 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 7,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $991,000 after acquiring an additional 2,529 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,569,000 after buying an additional 342,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 645,726 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $83,867,000 after acquiring an additional 18,575 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.87.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $162.00. 2,463,843 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,169,435. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.59. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $105.66 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $52.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 18.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 29th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Valero Energy 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.