Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,286 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,914 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 67.9% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,724 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 3,934 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 900.2% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 631,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $85,217,000 after purchasing an additional 568,000 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 45,505 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC grew its stake in Valero Energy by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,741 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 48.7% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Valero Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.86.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Valero Energy stock opened at $138.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $136.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.47. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $120.21 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a market cap of $43.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.39. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The business’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.