Stephens Inc. AR Sells 11,899 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR reduced its Valero Energy stake by 25% in the first quarter, selling 11,899 shares and leaving it with 35,622 shares valued at about $8.8 million.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.22 versus the $3.16 consensus estimate and revenue of $32.38 billion, both ahead of expectations.
• The company continues returning cash to shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, or $4.80 annualized, while analysts remain broadly positive with a “Moderate Buy” rating and average target of $247.59.

Stephens Inc. AR cut its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 25.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,622 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 11,899 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $8,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,898,000 after purchasing an additional 10,634 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $954,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 359.0% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,319,000 after buying an additional 11,140 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 139.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 18,701 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,178,000 after buying an additional 10,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 565,171 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $92,004,000 after buying an additional 112,118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of VLO stock traded down $1.54 on Tuesday, hitting $268.78. 440,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,501,127. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $130.78 and a fifty-two week high of $274.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $249.73 and a 200 day moving average of $221.00.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.Valero Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Wolfe Research reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $247.59.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company's operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.

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