Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 17.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,939 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 29,929 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $35,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $329.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 target price on Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:VLO opened at $349.27 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $254.21. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $352.70. The company has a market capitalization of $100.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The business’s revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

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.