Community Financial Services Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Community Financial Services Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 25.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,690 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,969 shares during the quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,725,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,257,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805,133 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,701,232 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,311,864,000 after purchasing an additional 413,963 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $973,119,000 after purchasing an additional 429,252 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,871,229 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $844,775,000 after purchasing an additional 100,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $669,400,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $137.08 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $167.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.56. The company has a market capitalization of $42.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.44, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.99.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 0.72%. The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 159.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.88.

Valero Energy Company 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.