Prudent Man Advisors LLC Trims Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Prudent Man Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,837 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 804 shares during the period. Prudent Man Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066,923 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after buying an additional 237,347 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $238,841,000 after buying an additional 232,494 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,517,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,145,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $179,490,000 after acquiring an additional 194,974 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho cut their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $140.16 on Monday. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $120.21 and a 52 week high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $135.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.35. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

Valero Energy Company 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.