Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by HUB Investment Partners LLC

HUB Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 44.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,861 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,256 shares during the quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,751,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,121,000 after buying an additional 6,278 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.08.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $131.42 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.48. The stock has a market cap of $41.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. 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. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.