Kwmg LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Kwmg LLC decreased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,717 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 12,246 shares during the period. Kwmg LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 160,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,377,000 after purchasing an additional 23,859 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 15.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $21,770,000 after buying an additional 21,997 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter worth about $4,534,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 104,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,853,000 after buying an additional 8,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,669,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 price target (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.33.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $241.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.62. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $258.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $212.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.69.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.