Haverford Trust Co Sells 376 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Haverford Trust Co lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,819 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 376 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 159.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 850,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $104,221,000 after buying an additional 522,233 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Close LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $422,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 457,540 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $56,090,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco de Sabadell S.A boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 15,671 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on VLO shares. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho cut 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.08.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of VLO opened at $132.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $41.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.36. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.