Hexagon Capital Partners LLC Decreases Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,044 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 4,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,005,346 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $142,468,000 after purchasing an additional 55,351 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Valero Energy by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 7,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 198.8% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 11,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,569,000 after acquiring an additional 342,218 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:VLO traded up $1.22 on Monday, hitting $157.98. 2,147,044 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,140,217. The stock has a market cap of $51.66 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $157.35 and a 200-day moving average of $150.47. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.16 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The firm’s revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Valero Energy from $176.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.87.

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.