Nordea Investment Management AB Decreases Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Nordea Investment Management AB reduced its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 27.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 484,294 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 184,490 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.15% of Valero Energy worth $59,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during 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. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 192,397 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $639,268,000 after buying an additional 247,630 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,585,166 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $484,105,000 after purchasing an additional 567,059 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:VLO traded up $1.22 on Wednesday, hitting $125.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,257,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,252,136. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $131.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.46. The stock has a market cap of $39.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42. 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 (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. The business 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 quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.49 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho cut their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.57.

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.