Moors & Cabot Inc. Grows Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $949,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,176,000. Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,754 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.9 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $125.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $39.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $132.97 and a 200 day moving average of $134.00.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.08.

About Valero Energy

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.