Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Pallas Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) by 38% in the second quarter, selling 3,131 shares, leaving it with a total of 5,116 shares valued at approximately $688,000.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Valero Energy, with notable increases including Waverly Advisors LLC, which raised its stake by 63%, and Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC, which increased its position by 130% during the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have provided bullish ratings on Valero Energy, with Bank of America raising its target price from $152.00 to $179.00, contributing to a consensus target price of $163.80 among various analysts.

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 38.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,116 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 3,131 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VLO. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 22,402 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,959,000 after purchasing an additional 3,503 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 8.9% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 46,474 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,138,000 after acquiring an additional 3,790 shares in the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $766,000. Sendero Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,198 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,668,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $866,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock traded down $1.30 on Friday, hitting $162.55. 8,119,393 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,495,504. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $165.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.50 billion, a PE ratio of 67.73, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.09.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 188.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $166.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.80.

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.