Royal Bank of Canada Reduces Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,158,185 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 92,479 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.31% of Valero Energy worth $509,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Valero Energy by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,072 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $990,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,387 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,017,000 after buying an additional 120,652 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,342 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 1,505 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $135.76 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $167.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.57. 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 firm has a market cap of $42.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 159.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.93.

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.