Occidental Asset Management LLC Invests $319,000 in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,604 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 3,517 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,342 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 1,505 shares in the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV increased its stake in Valero Energy by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 2,444 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 7,430 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $991,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Finally, Sendero Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,231,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VLO. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.3 %

Valero Energy stock traded up $1.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $141.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,531,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,560,424. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month 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 50-day simple moving average of $131.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.48.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. Valero Energy's revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

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.