PAX Financial Group LLC Decreases Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

PAX Financial Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. PAX Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Pitcairn Co. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 9,454 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 784,278 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $96,145,000 after buying an additional 4,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in Valero Energy by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 134,648 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $16,103,000 after acquiring an additional 15,235 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.67.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $104.64 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $102.60 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.97. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

About Valero Energy

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.