Cigna Investments Inc. New Cuts Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Cigna Investments Inc. New reduced its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,443 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. Phoenix Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors now owns 3,568 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 190.5% in the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 51,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,105,000 after acquiring an additional 33,906 shares during the period. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,480 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,756,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $535,000. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management grew its stake in Valero Energy by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 3,454 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Valero Energy stock traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $149.30. 1,911,305 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,020,497. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.39, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.25. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $119.88 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. 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, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.00.

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.