Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 532 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,814 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 532 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,878 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 7,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. now owns 19,349 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,555,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,497 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $150.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.94.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $144.87 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $167.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $136.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.92. The company has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.19, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 0.72%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 159.72%.

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.