Canal Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Canal Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 61.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,321 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,065 shares during the period. Canal Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $35,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $267.99 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $130.78 and a 52 week high of $274.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $249.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.63. The firm has a market cap of $79.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The company’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $276.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.