Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires 3,032 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 58.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 3,032 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 145.3% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $183.53.

Valero Energy Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $202.63 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $203.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.77.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.