Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Valero Energy Corporation by 14.5%, holding 103,838 shares worth approximately $13.71 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Valero Energy reported earnings of $2.28 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and generated $29.89 billion in revenue for the latest quarter.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share on September 2nd, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 103,838 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 17,681 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 12.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,155,522 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 6.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,510,586,000 after buying an additional 736,533 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 276.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after buying an additional 7,931,018 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,938,335 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $973,119,000 after acquiring an additional 429,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,247,196 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE VLO traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $152.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,242,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,159,081. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.03. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $99.00 and a 52-week high of $155.12. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $141.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 188.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Valero Energy from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup downgraded Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $155.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.47.

Valero Energy 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.