Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 83,286 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,914 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

VLO opened at $138.56 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $120.21 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $136.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $43.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 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.