Phoenix Financial Ltd. Cuts Stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. has reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 11.0%, selling 3,302 shares during the first quarter, and now holds 26,680 shares valued at $3,524,000.
• Valero Energy also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, translating to an annualized payout of $4.52 with a yield of 3.18%.
• Valero Energy's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $2.28, exceeding analyst expectations, while its revenue of $29.89 billion also surpassed estimates.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,680 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 3,302 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at $486,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at $2,099,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 17.3% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,490 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Wealth LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 13.1% in the first quarter. Nicholas Wealth LLC. now owns 8,406 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 10.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,486 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $13,800,000 after purchasing an additional 9,471 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VLO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $154.47.

Valero Energy Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $3.58 on Wednesday, hitting $141.15. 1,816,153 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,375,138. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $167.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $138.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. The business 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 188.33%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.