Guinness Asset Management LTD Has $11.48 Million Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Guinness Asset Management LTD lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 94,227 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 14,205 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 10.2% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 11,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,760,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 212.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 8,813 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 5,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Symmetry Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $258,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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 research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $141.21 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $131.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79. 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 results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 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.