Segment Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Segment Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,947 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 156.6% during the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 39.9% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $160.37 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $178.43. The company has a market capitalization of $49.82 billion, a PE ratio of 66.82, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $151.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.The company had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 188.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Wolfe Research lowered Valero Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Mizuho upped their target price on Valero Energy from $166.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.07.

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.