Grove Bank & Trust Trims Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Grove Bank & Trust lowered its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,870 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Valero Energy by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,065,228 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,276,875,000 after acquiring an additional 395,771 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 8.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,635,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $775,264,000 after buying an additional 587,056 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.6% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,128,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $718,850,000 after buying an additional 434,057 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $534,892,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,899,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $552,651,000 after buying an additional 121,057 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:VLO opened at $174.35 on Monday. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $104.18 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The company has a market cap of $57.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.60. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 31.62% and a net margin of 6.10%. The business had revenue of $35.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.25 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were issued a $1.07 dividend. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 17.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.40.

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.