LSV Asset Management Trims Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

LSV Asset Management decreased its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,688,122 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 51,900 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.52% of Valero Energy worth $288,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth $570,428,000. Putnam Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 3,445,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $447,957,000 after buying an additional 122,207 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,569,000 after buying an additional 342,218 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $310,655,000 after buying an additional 376,449 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,541,534 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $263,124,000 after buying an additional 35,043 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE VLO traded up $1.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $147.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,306,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,097,450. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $48.37 billion, a PE ratio of 7.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.52. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.67 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 24.82% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 15.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on Valero Energy from $167.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays cut their price target on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was 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 owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.