Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Holdings Trimmed by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC lowered its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,484,189 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,085,735 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $740,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.4% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 85,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,584,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 183.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 7,726 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 51,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,430 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $176,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $138.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $43.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $120.21 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $136.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.47.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. 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 business earned $7.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 38.39%.

About Valero Energy

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.