Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Takes $678,000 Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,212 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 33,427 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,394,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 21.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 100,006 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,163,000 after purchasing an additional 17,844 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Valero Energy by 12.5% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 60,730 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,167,000 after purchasing an additional 6,735 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $1,253,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,780 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Mizuho cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $173.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.40.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE VLO traded down $1.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,126,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,989,606. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $157.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.75. The stock has a market cap of $56.19 billion, a PE ratio of 6.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $104.18 and a one year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released 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 firm had revenue of $35.41 billion during 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 business’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.07 dividend. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

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.