Moors & Cabot Inc. Cuts Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Moors & Cabot Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 12.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,120 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,435 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,155,522 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 6.9% in the first 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 grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 276.9% during the first 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 period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Valero Energy by 34.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $647,823,000 after buying an additional 1,247,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at $529,864,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VLO shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price (up previously from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $183.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.27.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $176.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $163.87 and a 200-day moving average of $144.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.01. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $179.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.36%.

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.