Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 57.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,783 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,198 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,751,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Finally, Patten Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $277,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $117.21 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $36.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $167.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.73.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The company had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 159.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.80.

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.