Oakworth Capital Inc. Sells 90,529 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Oakworth Capital Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 98.4%, selling 90,529 shares, leaving them with only 1,492 shares valued at approximately $201,000.
• Valero Energy's earnings for the last quarter exceeded expectations, reporting $2.28 earnings per share against a consensus estimate of $1.66, while revenue was also above forecast at $29.89 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.6%, but with a high payout ratio of 188.33%.

Oakworth Capital Inc. decreased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 98.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,492 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 90,529 shares during the quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 276.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,425,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,931,018 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 4,155,522 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $529,864,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 15,395.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $179,047,000 after buying an additional 1,346,950 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $647,823,000 after buying an additional 1,247,196 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE VLO opened at $175.72 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $178.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.22, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $148.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.75.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The business's revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 188.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $165.00.

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.

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