QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 9,267 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

QRG Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 17.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,852 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 9,267 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $7,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,724,707 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,576,035,000 after acquiring an additional 286,942 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 16.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,141,511 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,089,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,217 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $827,390,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,024,322 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $675,369,000 after purchasing an additional 148,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,381,316 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $331,415,000 after purchasing an additional 77,070 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $183.35 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $192.00. The company has a market capitalization of $55.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $174.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 94.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% 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.