Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $6.96 Million Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Empire Life Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,739 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 18,858 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $555,000. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,666 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,286 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 17,691 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,529 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Tudor Pickering raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.46.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $135.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $130.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $116.84 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.50. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.