Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Decreases Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. decreased its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 54.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,286 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,139 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 16,630 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.6% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.8% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 40.3% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,679 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,638,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded up $2.88 on Friday, reaching $170.69. 3,325,987 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,672,776. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $146.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.00. The firm has a market cap of $56.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.53. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $104.18 and a 1-year high of $172.46.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $35.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.76 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a $1.07 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Valero Energy from $138.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.69.

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.