Aberdeen Group plc Sells 34,521 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,264 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 34,521 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $20,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 160,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,377,000 after purchasing an additional 23,859 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Valero Energy by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $21,770,000 after buying an additional 21,997 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at $4,534,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 9.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 104,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,853,000 after acquiring an additional 8,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $1,669,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO stock opened at $197.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $60.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.77. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $206.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $180.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.47.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This is a boost from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VLO. Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down previously from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price target (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.67.

Insider Activity

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.37% 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.