Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Stock Holdings Cut by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 290,935 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 24,849 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Valero Energy worth $35,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,104 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $609,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 84,573 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,420,000 after acquiring an additional 3,097 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 10,170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 39,344 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,313,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VLO. Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Trading Up 3.4 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $135.49 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $130.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.52.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Valero Energy Company 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.