Strs Ohio Reduces Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Strs Ohio cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,665 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,883 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $21,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 16,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in Valero Energy by 1.6% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in Valero Energy by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in Valero Energy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,690 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Equity Management raised its position in Valero Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 8,806 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.40.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of VLO opened at $170.67 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $104.18 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.56. The stock has a market cap of $56.74 billion, a PE ratio of 6.90, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.54.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.45 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.31%.

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.