Sound Income Strategies LLC Has $11.67 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Sound Income Strategies LLC reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 11.3%, holding 86,779 shares worth approximately $11.67 million as of the last reporting period.
• A significant number of institutional investors increased their positions in Valero Energy, including Price T Rowe Associates, which lifted its stake by 276.9%.
• According to recent analyst ratings, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.00.

Sound Income Strategies LLC reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 11.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,779 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 11,095 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $11,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,931,018 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,135,043,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155,522 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $529,864,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 15,395.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,355,699 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $179,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,346,950 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 34.1% in the first 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup downgraded Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Valero Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.00.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of 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 twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $178.43. The stock's 50 day moving average is $148.97 and its 200-day moving average is $135.75. 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.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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