Westpac Banking Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Westpac Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 64.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,562 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,704 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Tobam acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 122.0% in the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of 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 company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.97.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

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.