Heartland Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Heartland Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 38.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 42,712 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 26,721 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Tobam purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.67.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $131.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.33.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were paid a $1.13 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.