Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $6.96 Million Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Empire Life Investments Inc. lessened its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,739 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 18,858 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,784 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in Valero Energy by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,883 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on VLO. Barclays lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of VLO stock opened at $135.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.67.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

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.