Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Avantax Planning Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Avantax Planning Partners cut its Valero Energy stake by 7.8% in the first quarter, selling 3,524 shares and leaving it with 41,733 shares valued at about $10.3 million.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.22 beating estimates by $1.06 and revenue of $32.38 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 7% year over year.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $250.53.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,733 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 3,524 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.'s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $295.96 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $297.66. The company has a market capitalization of $87.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $254.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 31.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $276.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $250.53.

Insider Activity

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Company 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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