Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 43,267 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,382 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $132,469,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,217,000 after buying an additional 568,000 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,352,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $499,210,000 after acquiring an additional 487,022 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VLO shares. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.08.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

VLO opened at $132.00 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $133.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

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.