Swiss National Bank Reduces Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 905,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 65,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $110,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,176,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.2% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,497 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 16.6% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,088 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.1% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,583 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of VLO opened at $129.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $133.12 and its 200 day moving average is $133.84. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 53.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.