Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 243,100 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Two Sigma Advisers LP trimmed its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 41.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 339,400 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 243,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.11% of Valero Energy worth $41,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 5,070 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Scotiabank cut 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $151.93.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $128.63. 2,052,954 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,039,086. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $121.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.52. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $167.78.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 159.72%.

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.