Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by abrdn plc

abrdn plc cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 415,849 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 15,018 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $50,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 4,851 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VLO. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $142.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $130.76 and its 200-day moving average is $137.35. The stock has a market cap of $45.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

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.