First Command Advisory Services Inc. Sells 150 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

First Command Advisory Services Inc. lowered its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $44,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,894,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 51,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 5,517 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,733 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 947,891 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $116,202,000 after acquiring an additional 18,677 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

VLO opened at $129.65 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.84 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $131.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio 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.