Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Position Lowered by Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc decreased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 154,180 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 27,916 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,356 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $14,751,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,226,000. Hudson Capital Management LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 31,792 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,897,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $274,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 89,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,121,000 after buying an additional 6,278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho reduced their price objective 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. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $134.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.87. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $116.84 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.30%.

Valero Energy Company 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.