Baird Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 135,155 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 20,776 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 8.9% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 46,474 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,138,000 after acquiring an additional 3,790 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 26.3% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,571 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 2,199 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at $866,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 560,495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $74,025,000 after purchasing an additional 56,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,436,759 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $193,129,000 after purchasing an additional 244,675 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $183.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.00.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $174.68 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.94. The firm has a market cap of $53.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.76. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $185.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The firm had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.36%.

About Valero Energy

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.