Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 2,573 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Erste Asset Management GmbH trimmed its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 104,150 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,573 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $17,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1ST Source Bank grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% during the third quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 3,828 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 74,763 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,729,000 after buying an additional 6,124 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,129 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS increased its position in Valero Energy by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 63,208 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,762,000 after acquiring an additional 2,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.67.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $204.49 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $185.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.70. 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 $206.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.77.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.