New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $5.79 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,251 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 423 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Simmons Bank lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 5,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,733 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 947,891 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $116,202,000 after acquiring an additional 18,677 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, Daner Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $410,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of VLO opened at $130.59 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $132.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $116.84 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The company has a market cap of $41.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.30%.

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.