Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $1.35 Million Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lowered its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,023 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,518 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,389,090,000 after purchasing an additional 50,837 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 192,397 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $639,268,000 after purchasing an additional 247,630 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4,908.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of VLO opened at $141.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. 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 one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.48.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank lowered their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.57.

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.