Park Avenue Securities LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,244 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $384,907,000 after buying an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $145,339,000 after buying an additional 1,066,923 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Valero Energy by 900.2% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,217,000 after buying an additional 568,000 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 18.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $70,352,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $141.21 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 $44.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $131.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.48. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

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.