Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Position Cut by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. reduced its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 202,411 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 62,923 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy comprises 1.1% of Conning Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $34,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,576,035,000 after purchasing an additional 286,942 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Valero Energy by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,089,897,000 after buying an additional 1,164,217 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,024,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $675,369,000 after buying an additional 148,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,381,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $331,415,000 after acquiring an additional 77,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the company’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 value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $186.13 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $192.00.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.36%.

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.