Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Decreases Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 82,521 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,282 shares during the quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,293,589 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $174,673,000 after purchasing an additional 22,571 shares during the period. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,937 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America started coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $133.05 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $130.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.20. The stock has a market cap of $42.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 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.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 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 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

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.