Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Stock Holdings Reduced by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 345,325 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 35,123 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.11% of Valero Energy worth $46,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VLO. Piper Sandler cut Valero Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Valero Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $146.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.29.

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded down $1.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $128.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,169,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,574,284. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $119.88 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.39%.

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.