Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Boosts Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 23.7% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 42,716 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,696,000 after purchasing an additional 8,198 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 66.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,781 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,377,000 after buying an additional 3,492 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 91.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 430 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $39,517,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock traded down $0.92 during trading on Monday, hitting $147.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,676,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,068,927. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $153.10 and a 200 day moving average of $154.37. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $119.88 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.00.

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.