Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by Strategic Financial Concepts LLC

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lessened its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 98.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,606 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 93,214 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,323 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,878 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank lifted its position in Valero Energy by 1.2% during the first quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 7,982 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,497 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, NDVR Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 1,852 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price objective 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. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $121.00 to $118.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.88.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $143.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,379,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,051,240. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.56. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $167.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.02 billion, a PE ratio of 50.84, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.00.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.27). Valero Energy had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 0.72%. The company had revenue of $28.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.82 EPS. Valero Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 159.72%.

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.