Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Traynor Capital Management Inc.

Traynor Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,617 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 746 shares during the period. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $174,673,000 after buying an additional 22,571 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $1,226,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,121,000 after purchasing an additional 6,278 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $274,000. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $319,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $135.00 on Thursday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.98. The company has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 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.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. 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.