Ethic Inc. Acquires 4,991 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 223.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,223 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 4,991 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut their target price on Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.93.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $134.44 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $120.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.49. 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 market capitalization of $42.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $167.78.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 159.72%.

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.