Covington Capital Management Cuts Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Covington Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO – Get Rating) by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,549 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 419 shares during the period. Covington Capital Management’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2,470.0% during the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 257 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 60.6% during the third quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 265 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 56.3% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 123.3% during the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 79.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $131.62 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.13 and a 52 week high of $150.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.21. The firm has a market cap of $48.85 billion, a PE ratio of 4.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The oil and gas company reported $8.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.45 by $1.00. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 6.54%. The business had revenue of $41.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 13th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VLO. UBS Group began coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $176.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Valero Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $111.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.38.

Valero Energy Profile

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Valero Energy Corp. engages in the manufacture and marketing of transportation fuels and other petrochemical products. It operates through the following business segments: Refining, Ethanol and Renewable Diesel. The Refining segment consists of refining operations, associated marketing activities, and logistics assets that support its refining operations.