Lmcg Investments LLC Has $8.03 Million Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Lmcg Investments LLC lowered its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 65,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,802 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $8,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 196.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on 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, Scotiabank decreased their target price 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. 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 two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $141.21 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.49 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

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