HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 147,055 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 32,191 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Valero Energy Stock Up 2.7 %

VLO stock opened at $129.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $133.12 and its 200 day moving average is $133.79. The stock has a market cap of $40.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $116.84 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

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 for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.08.

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.