HighTower Advisors LLC Has $18.03 Million Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,055 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 32,191 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,311,864,000 after acquiring an additional 413,963 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $639,268,000 after acquiring an additional 247,630 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $499,210,000 after acquiring an additional 487,022 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $384,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793,607 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,533,434 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $342,090,000 after acquiring an additional 151,200 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.08.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO traded up $1.86 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $133.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,935,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,768,360. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $133.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.58. The firm has a market cap of $42.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.30%.

Valero Energy Company 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.