B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,344 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 1,880 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.07.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $137.47 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $143.54 and a 200 day moving average of $154.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $44.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 10.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

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.