Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. Sells 100 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. cut its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,011 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Valero Energy accounts for 2.2% of Carmel Capital Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 54.8% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 63,112 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,893,000 after purchasing an additional 22,336 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $1,474,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 17.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $238,841,000 after acquiring an additional 232,494 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,956,743 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,090,532,000 after acquiring an additional 192,397 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $8,096,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Trading Up 4.2 %

VLO stock opened at $140.75 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.96.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.49 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.54%.

Valero Energy 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.