Fiduciary Trust Co Lowers Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Fiduciary Trust Co lessened its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 53,489 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,766 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,066,923 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Valero Energy by 900.2% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,217,000 after purchasing an additional 568,000 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $238,841,000 after buying an additional 232,494 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE VLO opened at $138.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $136.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.47. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.21 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. 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 released 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 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 quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

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.