Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Bought by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 58.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 3,032 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 145.3% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 4.4%

VLO stock opened at $202.63 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.26. The stock has a market cap of $61.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $203.14.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.53.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.