Cypress Capital Group Has $2.49 Million Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Cypress Capital Group cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,317 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,854 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,751,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,121,000 after purchasing an additional 6,278 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on VLO shares. Mizuho cut their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their target price on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $127.69 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $132.43 and its 200-day moving average is $134.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.30%.

Valero Energy 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.