Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Viking Fund Management LLC

Viking Fund Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 40.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 12,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $570,428,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 12,883.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,047,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $136,157,000 after buying an additional 1,039,293 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Valero Energy by 6.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,961,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,269,949,000 after acquiring an additional 517,068 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in 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. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $362,569,000 after purchasing an additional 342,218 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.00.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Valero Energy stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $153.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,911,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,136,536. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.83. The company has a market cap of $50.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.47. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.16 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.27 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 17.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Valero Energy 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.