Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Groupe la Francaise

Groupe la Francaise lowered its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 39.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,238 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 11,464 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $4,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.6% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,670 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.8% in the second quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. now owns 916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.0% in the second quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VLO. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.18.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of VLO opened at $370.94 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $317.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.57. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $153.20 and a 1-year high of $375.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 41.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.