Entropy Technologies LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Entropy Technologies LP decreased its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 56.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,724 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 13,772 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at about $528,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $36,165,000 after acquiring an additional 27,291 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $19,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $247.12 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $130.78 and a 1 year high of $265.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company's 50-day moving average is $245.57 and its 200 day moving average is $213.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Valero Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.59.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company's operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.

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