Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 29,215 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,215 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $17,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Tobam purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 122.0% during the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $116.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $178.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.05. The company has a market capitalization of $36.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Raymond James lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $152.85.

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.