Marino Stram & Associates LLC Grows Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,384 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 3,680 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 198,664 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,826,000 after purchasing an additional 44,710 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 10,265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock traded down $2.68 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.99. The company had a trading volume of 999,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,365,385. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.85 billion, a PE ratio of 6.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.56. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $104.18 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 31.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VLO. Bank of America raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.40.

Valero Energy Company 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.