Peddock Capital Advisors LLC Sells 455 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,870 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 455 shares during the quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 valued at $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $145,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,923 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,217,000 after purchasing an additional 568,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $70,352,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO traded up $6.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $133.49. The company had a trading volume of 5,177,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,759,177. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.89. The company has a market capitalization of $42.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.