Huntington National Bank Sells 31,791 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Huntington National Bank trimmed its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 479,452 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 31,791 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $78,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $528,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Valero Energy by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,165,000 after buying an additional 27,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,600,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $240.43 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $242.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.27. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $125.10 and a 12-month high of $263.75. The firm has a market cap of $71.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced 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 net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

About Valero Energy

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.