Tradewinds LLC. Has $241,000 Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Tradewinds LLC. cut its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,966 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. Tradewinds LLC.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Tobam bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 122.0% during the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho dropped their price objective 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 reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.67.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $133.65 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.30. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $42.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, 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 current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 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 paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.