AdvisorShares Investments LLC Cuts Stock Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 10.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,807 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 336 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $570,428,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after buying an additional 426,093 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after buying an additional 376,449 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 721.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 337,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,927,000 after buying an additional 296,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $39,517,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $132.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.58, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $119.88 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.50.

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.