Appleton Partners Inc. MA Reduces Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lessened its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 18.5% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 22,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,000 after purchasing an additional 3,503 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 46,474 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,138,000 after buying an additional 3,790 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $766,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $866,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at about $462,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.07.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:VLO opened at $163.32 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $178.43. The firm has a market cap of $50.74 billion, a PE ratio of 68.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $151.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.18.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.