Capital Impact Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Capital Impact Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO – Get Rating) by 24.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 83 shares during the quarter. Capital Impact Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $27,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 2,470.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 257 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 56.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 123.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Valero Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $157.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.38.

Valero Energy Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of VLO opened at $127.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $135.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.20. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $86.01 and a one year high of $150.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.37, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 14th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 14.01%.

About Valero Energy

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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.