Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Has $15.70 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 121,477 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,872 shares during the period. Valero Energy makes up about 1.6% of Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $15,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 16,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 8,806 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $138.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.69.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO traded up $2.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $170.69. The stock had a trading volume of 3,325,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,627,950. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.75 billion, a PE ratio of 6.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 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. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $104.18 and a 12 month high of $172.46.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.60. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 31.62%. The business had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

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

Valero Energy Company 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.