Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,712 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 520 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 130.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,136 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Valero Energy by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,326 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 763,390 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $119,669,000 after purchasing an additional 55,019 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 12.9% during the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,510 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,118,000 after buying an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

VLO opened at $129.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.27. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $124.02 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.49 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.50.

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.