Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Cuts Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. cut its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,041 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,751 shares during the period. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 17.4% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 160,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,377,000 after buying an additional 23,859 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $21,770,000 after acquiring an additional 21,997 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $4,534,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 9.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 104,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,853,000 after purchasing an additional 8,638 shares during the period. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $1,669,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.67.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $217.49 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $221.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 5th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

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.