Empowered Funds LLC Sells 70,116 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Empowered Funds LLC cut its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 37.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,559 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 70,116 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $28,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 134.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research lowered Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $292.00 to $338.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.71.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.8%

VLO opened at $304.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $130.78 and a 12 month high of $320.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $266.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $235.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 36.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Valero Energy

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.