Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 15,454 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,015 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 15,454 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 132,078 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $16,191,000 after buying an additional 42,316 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $181,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,298 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $47,969,000 after acquiring an additional 3,855 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,361,000. Finally, Alethea Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $315,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $134.44. 2,931,292 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,040,068. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $120.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $167.78.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 9.58%. Valero Energy's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 159.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $151.93.

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.