Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Stock: Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stake

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 88.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,542 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 138,433 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.4% in the third quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,027 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,608 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,011,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in Valero Energy by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 7,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,779,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 956 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $434.00 to $436.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $441.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $411.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Freedom Broker cut shares of Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $276.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $467.00 price objective (up from $355.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $406.32.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $374.96 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $159.90 and a 1 year high of $461.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $104.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $399.72 and a 200-day moving average of $293.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The oil and gas company reported $23.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $21.17 by $2.73. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 45.90% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $46.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 43.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 58.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.80%.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is an international refiner and producer of transportation fuels and other petroleum products, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its refining business processes crude oil and other feedstocks into products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and petrochemical feedstocks. The company markets and distributes fuels to wholesale customers and through branded distribution networks. Its refining operations span the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with products serving customers in North America and other markets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.