Sunbelt Securities Inc. Has $2.99 Million Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Sunbelt Securities cut its stake in Valero by 28.6% in Q3, selling 7,028 shares and leaving 17,570 shares valued at about $2.99 million.
• Valero beat quarterly expectations with $3.82 EPS vs. $3.27 est. and $30.37 billion in revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.20 (annualized $4.80, ~2.0% yield).
• Analysts are mixed but the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a $193.20 target, while shares trade around $236 with a market cap near $70.6 billion.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,570 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 7,028 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group increased its position in Valero Energy by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,786 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,381 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,837 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,015,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Zacks Research lowered Valero Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.20.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $236.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $70.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.70. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $240.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 1.91%.The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Valero Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy's payout ratio is currently 62.83%.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

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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