Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. decreased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 39,450 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,174 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,135,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,155,522 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Valero Energy by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,510,586,000 after purchasing an additional 736,533 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Valero Energy by 276.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,931,018 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Valero Energy by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $647,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $529,864,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $171.63 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.00 and a fifty-two week high of $178.43. The stock has a market cap of $53.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.84.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 94.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $166.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $183.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.27.

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.