Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Stake Trimmed by Graypoint LLC

Graypoint LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,830 shares during the quarter. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1,676.9% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 231 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VLO. Mizuho lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $173.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $161.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.40.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $173.54 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $104.18 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The stock has a market cap of $57.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.02, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $155.96 and a 200-day moving average of $138.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.60. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. The firm had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

About Valero Energy

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.