James Investment Research Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

James Investment Research Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 43,131 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,460 shares during the quarter. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,687,585 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $639,268,000 after purchasing an additional 247,630 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,072,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $499,210,000 after purchasing an additional 487,022 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 4,908.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,850,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $384,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,533,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $342,090,000 after purchasing an additional 151,200 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of several research reports. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $135.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $130.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

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.