National Pension Service Sells 2,413 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

National Pension Service reduced its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 488,721 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,413 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $79,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 16,268 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 3,909 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:VLO opened at $245.08 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $125.10 and a one year high of $263.75. The company has a market cap of $72.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

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.