Whittier Trust Co. Lowers Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 187,266 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Valero Energy worth $22,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Valero Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,751,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,121,000 after purchasing an additional 6,278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $133.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $133.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.