Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Holdings Trimmed by Empire Life Investments Inc.

Empire Life Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,597 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 959 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11,318.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,076,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $145,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,923 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 37.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after purchasing an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 17.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $238,841,000 after purchasing an additional 232,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $39,517,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.29.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $128.22 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $119.88 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.49 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

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.