Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 54.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,417 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,905 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $528,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $341.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $283.92 and a 200 day moving average of $247.97. The firm has a market cap of $98.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $135.01 and a one year high of $346.09.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 19.92%.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.