Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Trims Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lowered its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 7.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 41,733 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,524 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $2,959,065,000 after purchasing an additional 163,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 63,919 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,285,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $534,791,000 after buying an additional 17,336 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $295.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $87.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $130.78 and a 12 month high of $297.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $254.22 and its 200-day moving average is $225.92.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 31.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.53.

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.