GAMMA Investing LLC Cuts Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

GAMMA Investing LLC lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,749 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 599 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 196.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.07.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $124.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.19. The stock has a market cap of $39.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.