Grove Bank & Trust Sells 308 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Grove Bank & Trust lowered its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,579 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 308 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $677,007,000 after buying an additional 237,347 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $238,841,000 after buying an additional 232,494 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $39,517,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 20.5% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,145,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $179,490,000 after acquiring an additional 194,974 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

VLO stock opened at $141.17 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $119.88 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.07, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 24.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on VLO. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.60.

About Valero Energy

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.