Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Lowers Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 75,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 27,833 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after acquiring an additional 192,397 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.9% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,018,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $473,118,000 after purchasing an additional 56,989 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $440,394,000 after buying an additional 82,539 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Valero Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $352,292,000 after buying an additional 65,632 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VLO. Barclays cut their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.29.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of VLO opened at $136.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $136.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $43.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $119.88 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Valero Energy Company 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.