Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 186,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 25,740 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Valero Energy worth $45,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 157.0% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 203 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $267.99 on Monday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $130.78 and a 12 month high of $274.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.00.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VLO. TD Cowen raised their price target on Valero Energy from $276.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.