Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 29.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 74,985 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 31,778 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $570,428,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after buying an additional 426,093 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after buying an additional 376,449 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 721.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 337,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,927,000 after buying an additional 296,771 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $34,580,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $149.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,005,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,014,074. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $119.88 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $48.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.38.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.00.

Valero Energy Profile

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.