Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Position Trimmed by Sierra Summit Advisors LLC

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 96.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 35,159 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its position in Valero Energy by 157.0% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 203 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the senior vice president 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $267.99 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $249.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.63. The firm has a market cap of $79.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $130.78 and a 52-week high of $274.92. 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 issued 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. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.59.

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.