Candriam S.C.A. Sells 2,828 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,535 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,828 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,576,035,000 after buying an additional 286,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,164,217 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 3.0% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,024,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $675,369,000 after acquiring an additional 148,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% during the second 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. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.67.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $199.60 on Wednesday. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $204.14. The firm has a market cap of $60.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $177.93 and its 200-day moving average is $166.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.83%.

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.