MCF Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

MCF Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 954 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 82 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,339,000 after buying an additional 1,066,923 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,217,000 after acquiring an additional 568,000 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 18.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,105,000 after acquiring an additional 567,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $70,352,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 3.2 %

VLO stock opened at $135.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.36 and a 200 day moving average of $137.98.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VLO. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy 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.