Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Capital Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,556 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $570,428,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 37.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,389,654 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $310,655,000 after purchasing an additional 376,449 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 721.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 337,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,927,000 after purchasing an additional 296,771 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $34,580,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $151.08. 1,568,123 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,042,393. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.42. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $119.88 and a 52-week high of $184.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $152.25 and a 200-day moving average of $154.76.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.00.

Valero Energy Profile

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.