Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Buys 1,440 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 34.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,617 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $689,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11,318.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $145,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,923 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,217,000 after purchasing an additional 568,000 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,352,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO traded up $6.34 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $133.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,101,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,757,841. The company has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.89. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VLO shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho cut their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.57.

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.