Legal & General Group Plc Sells 118,018 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,786,163 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 118,018 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $290,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 194.4% during the 4th quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 212 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VLO. Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup increased 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. Argus raised Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.94.

Valero Energy Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $241.58 on Wednesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $125.10 and a 52-week high of $263.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.82.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

About Valero Energy

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.