Ethic Inc. Has $885,000 Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 223.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,223 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 4,991 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VLO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after buying an additional 4,805,133 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,311,864,000 after purchasing an additional 413,963 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $973,119,000 after purchasing an additional 429,252 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,871,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $844,775,000 after purchasing an additional 100,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $669,400,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.93.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $134.44 on Thursday. Valero Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $167.78. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.49.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 159.72%.

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.