First National Trust Co Sells 27,351 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

First National Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 42.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,415 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 27,351 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 145.3% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 125 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. Citigroup increased their price target on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down previously from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $201.43 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $204.14. The stock has a market cap of $61.44 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $177.52 and a 200-day moving average of $165.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

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.