Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 11,008 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 10.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 93,674 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 11,008 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $15,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waddell & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. DSG Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% during the third quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,786 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,381 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VLO. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.67.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $204.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $62.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $185.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.96. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $206.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%.Valero Energy’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

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