Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,606 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.9% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 33,427 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 21.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 100,006 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,163,000 after buying an additional 17,844 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 12.5% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 60,730 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,167,000 after buying an additional 6,735 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $1,253,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 21.0% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,780 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Raymond James upped their target price on Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.69.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $170.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $56.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.90, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $145.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.75. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $104.18 and a 1 year high of $172.46.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.76 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.31%.

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.