Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC Takes $232,000 Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLOFree Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,665 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Sageworth Trust Co increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 716.7% during the 1st quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 196 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Prostatis Group LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 217.6% during the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 216 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, Director Joseph W. Gorder sold 75,580 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.99, for a total value of $10,278,124.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 621,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,568,373.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Bank of America cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $113.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.69.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Valero Energy

Valero Energy Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of VLO stock opened at $142.06 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $126.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.23. The stock has a market cap of $50.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.66. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $97.73 and a fifty-two week high of $150.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLOGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $5.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $34.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.37 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 42.31%. The business’s revenue was down 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $11.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.16 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 3rd were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 2nd. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

(Free Report)

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO)

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