Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Cuts Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,069 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $827,390,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $1,089,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,217 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 162.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 523,692 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $70,395,000 after purchasing an additional 324,174 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $1,576,035,000 after purchasing an additional 286,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 17.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,706,187 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $286,076,000 after buying an additional 256,373 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.67.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.9%

VLO opened at $199.60 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $177.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $204.14. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.