LongView Wealth Management Trims Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

LongView Wealth Management decreased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,892 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. LongView Wealth Management’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,090,000 after acquiring an additional 50,837 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $639,268,000 after purchasing an additional 247,630 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 18.8% in 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 buying an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 buying an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America started coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $141.21 on Friday. 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 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $131.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.48. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

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. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

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

Valero Energy 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.