King Luther Capital Management Corp Decreases Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,111 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,234 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Tobam bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 196.8% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $125.79 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.94. 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 one year low of $116.84 and a one year high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $39.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a $1.13 dividend. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective 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. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.08.

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.