D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $9.85 Million Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,947 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 4,264 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $9,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,287,269 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,389,090,000 after acquiring an additional 50,837 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,090,532,000 after purchasing an additional 192,397 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in 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 valued at $677,007,000 after buying an additional 237,347 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Valero Energy by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $484,105,000 after buying an additional 567,059 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,809,355 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $440,394,000 after buying an additional 82,539 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

VLO traded down $1.25 on Wednesday, reaching $138.55. 1,907,047 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,931,799. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $136.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.51. The company has a market cap of $43.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $120.21 and a 52-week high of $184.79. 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 (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 13.07% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.49 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 38.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Valero Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.86.

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.