DAVENPORT & Co LLC Has $2.59 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

DAVENPORT & Co LLC reduced its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,190 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,768 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth $26,000. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1,277.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Valero Energy from $201.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.20.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $163.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $171.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.93. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $185.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.36%.

Valero Energy 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.