MCF Advisors LLC Sells 82 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

MCF Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 954 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 82 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 10.8% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 68,324 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,710,000 after buying an additional 6,638 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 54.8% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 63,112 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,893,000 after buying an additional 22,336 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 31,818 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,988,000 after buying an additional 11,819 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $1,474,000. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 451.1% in the second quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 29,839 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,678,000 after acquiring an additional 24,425 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

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

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

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.