Swiss National Bank Cuts Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 970,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $131,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of VLO stock opened at $140.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $120.21 and a one year high of $184.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $135.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 company’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 38.39%.

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.