Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 4.0% in Q1, selling 5,915 shares and now holds 141,140 shares valued at $18.64 million.
• Valero Energy reported $2.28 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates of $1.66, despite revenue declining 13.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 3.3% and reflects a high dividend payout ratio of 188.33%.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,140 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 5,915 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 156.6% during the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 213 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in Valero Energy by 39.9% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $152.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup lowered Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $118.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $154.47.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock traded up $2.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $140.72. 907,868 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,276,415. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $140.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.82. The company has a market cap of $43.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.64, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.03. 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 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $155.12.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio is 188.33%.

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.