Eric Fisher Sells 7,500 Shares of Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) Stock

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total value of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,242 shares in the company, valued at $6,453,629.80. This represents a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $236.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $265.61. The company has a market capitalization of $70.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $245.11 and a 200-day moving average of $214.85.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.59.

Institutional Trading of Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VLO. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after buying an additional 163,975 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,945,500,000 after acquiring an additional 63,919 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after acquiring an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 11.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,243,630,000 after acquiring an additional 516,975 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.