First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $1.29 Million Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,544 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,048 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 valued at $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $145,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,923 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,217,000 after acquiring an additional 568,000 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% in 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 acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $70,352,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $139.80 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.87. The firm has a market cap of $44.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.49 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank reduced 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.54.

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.