New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Reduces Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board decreased its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 6.4% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $135.49 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.46.

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.