Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P decreased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 86.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,668 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 22,642 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $110.59 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $34.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $127.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.70. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $174.94.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.46.

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.