Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,692 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $570,428,000. Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $447,957,000 after buying an additional 122,207 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $310,655,000 after acquiring an additional 376,449 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,063,923 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $352,292,000 after acquiring an additional 65,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $151.08. 1,567,526 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,042,392. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $152.37 and a 200-day moving average of $154.60.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Argus lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.00.

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.