Financial Management Professionals Inc. Buys 281 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,624 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 196.8% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at about $50,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VLO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE VLO opened at $141.21 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.48. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

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.