Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 6,974 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 27.4%, owning 18,457 shares worth approximately $2.4 million after selling 6,974 shares in the first quarter.
• Valero Energy reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.66, with revenue of $29.89 billion, which was lower compared to the previous year's revenue.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share reflects a yield of 3.3%, although the payout ratio is notably high at 188.33%.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,457 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 6,974 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $529,864,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 15,395.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 34.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $98,376,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of VLO stock traded up $0.91 on Friday, hitting $136.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,037,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,810,699. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $155.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $139.81 and a 200 day moving average of $130.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $42.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.03.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 5.76%. The business had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 188.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.47.

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.