Donaldson Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,501 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 2,075 shares during the quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moseley Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,325 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,024,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,277 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,508,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 166,498 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $21,989,000 after buying an additional 4,548 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,265 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1,995.1% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,432 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 6,125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of VLO stock traded down $0.53 on Thursday, reaching $133.53. 2,124,561 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,030,221. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business's 50 day moving average price is $121.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.60. The company has a market capitalization of $41.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.99. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $167.78.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $28.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.54 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 2.13%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 159.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $158.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.93.

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.