Semanteon Capital Management LP Sells 6,494 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Semanteon Capital Management LP lessened its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 79.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,641 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,494 shares during the period. Semanteon Capital Management LP’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,311,864,000 after acquiring an additional 413,963 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $639,268,000 after acquiring an additional 247,630 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $499,210,000 after acquiring an additional 487,022 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.3% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,533,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $342,090,000 after acquiring an additional 151,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $131.42 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $133.96 and a 200-day moving average of $133.43. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 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. The company has a market capitalization of $41.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released 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 return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.08.

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.