Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Sells 305 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,094 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,751,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,121,000 after buying an additional 6,278 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho cut their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $129.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $131.82 and its 200 day moving average is $135.37. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

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.