Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Carlson Financial Inc.

Carlson Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,509 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,820 shares during the period. Carlson Financial Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2,325.2% in the 4th quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 36,378 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,922,000 after purchasing an additional 34,878 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 846.9% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 14,752 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 13,194 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,743,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.2% during the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 192,430 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,546,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 45,008 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,327,000 after purchasing an additional 4,153 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Valero Energy from $329.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $370.94 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $106.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.57. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $153.20 and a fifty-two week high of $375.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $315.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.28 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 41.15 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.92%.

Valero Energy Profile

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.