Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 561 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 152,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 561 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,346 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 8,272 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 46,305 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 4.5 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $121.81 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $116.84 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $132.49 and a 200 day moving average of $134.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.46.

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.