Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Lowers Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,713 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 248 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 4,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 198.8% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 11,047 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 214.4% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 14,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 9,871 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $15,945,000. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 188.0% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,541 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 3,617 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Argus lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

VLO traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $146.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 142,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,993,775. The business’s 50-day moving average is $151.57 and its 200-day moving average is $155.57. 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 cap of $47.07 billion, a PE ratio of 7.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $119.88 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.