Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Acquires Shares of 371 Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 371 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 44,243 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,552,000 after acquiring an additional 5,839 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $417,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 19,666 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 9,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $139.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $135.63 and its 200-day moving average is $146.80. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $44.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.