Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. trimmed its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 561 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $38,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 6.3% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 239,632 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,358,000 after buying an additional 14,143 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 30.7% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.4% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 11,333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after buying an additional 1,759 shares during the period. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 23.3% in the third quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 20,802 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,809,000 after buying an additional 3,934 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $121.81 on Thursday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $116.84 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $132.49 and its 200 day moving average is $134.66. The stock has a market cap of $38.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 2.93 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.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 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.