Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Acquired by Cetera Advisors LLC

Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 242.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,135 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. First Foundation Advisors bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $7.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $148.56. The company had a trading volume of 3,457,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,709,691. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.00. The firm has a market cap of $48.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $119.88 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced 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 company had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.