Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 2,013 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,278 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,013 shares during the period. Valero Energy comprises 2.7% of Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 6,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4.4% in the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 1,978 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Covenant Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.6% in the first quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC now owns 14,962 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,089,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 18,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,396,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Greenfield Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.0% in the first quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 9,390 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,311,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, Director Joseph W. Gorder sold 75,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.99, for a total transaction of $10,278,124.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 621,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,568,373.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $1.40 on Tuesday, hitting $144.88. The stock had a trading volume of 786,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,109,417. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $97.73 and a twelve month high of $150.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $129.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.61. The company has a market capitalization of $51.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.66.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.08 by $0.32. Valero Energy had a net margin of 6.96% and a return on equity of 42.31%. The company had revenue of $34.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $11.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 3rd were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 2nd. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $113.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.00.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.