Gries Financial LLC Sells 78 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Gries Financial LLC reduced its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,864 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $174,673,000 after acquiring an additional 22,571 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $3,897,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased 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 worth $12,121,000 after buying an additional 6,278 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $135.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.11 and a 200 day moving average of $137.72. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VLO. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.54.

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.