Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $997,000 Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 409 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 22,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,000 after acquiring an additional 3,503 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 46,474 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $766,000. Sendero Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.0% during the first quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,198 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,668,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $866,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.73.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $158.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $144.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.56. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $163.02.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 188.33%.

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.