Empowered Funds LLC Decreases Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222,271 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 11,743 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy accounts for about 0.5% of Empowered Funds LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.07% of Valero Energy worth $30,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $1,090,532,000 after buying an additional 192,397 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 237,347 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,018,107 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $473,118,000 after purchasing an additional 56,989 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 82,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $352,292,000 after buying an additional 65,632 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler cut Valero Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Valero Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $177.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE VLO traded up $0.14 on Friday, reaching $140.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,255,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,949,318. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $120.21 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $135.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.