Montecito Bank & Trust Lowers Stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Montecito Bank & Trust cut its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,617 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $34,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 196.8% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.57.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $139.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.42. 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 fifty day moving average price of $131.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.98. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79.

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

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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. 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 3.23%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 38.39%.

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.