Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,158,185 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 92,479 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 1.31% of Valero Energy worth $509,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $2.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $132.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,908,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,024,485. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $121.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.60. The company has a market capitalization of $41.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $167.78. 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 (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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.27). The firm 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%. The firm's revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy's payout ratio is 159.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $144.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays upped their price target on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "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.