GoalVest Advisory LLC Sells 90 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

GoalVest Advisory LLC decreased its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,389,090,000 after purchasing an additional 50,837 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after acquiring an additional 192,397 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $639,268,000 after purchasing an additional 247,630 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $135.00 on Thursday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.98. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.