Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,023 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,518 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after buying an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,339,000 after buying an additional 1,066,923 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 900.2% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,217,000 after buying an additional 568,000 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $70,352,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VLO. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $141.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.48.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.49 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.