DAVENPORT & Co LLC Sells 41,701 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lowered its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 63.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 41,701 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 156.6% in the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 39.9% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Citigroup cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.07.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $162.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.67, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.05. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $178.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $152.45 and a 200 day moving average of $137.53.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 188.33%.

About Valero Energy

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.