Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise cut its Valero Energy stake by 51.6% in the first quarter, selling 7,421 shares and leaving it with 6,958 shares valued at about $1.72 million.
• Valero’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $4.22 versus the $3.16 consensus and revenue of $32.38 billion, up 7% year over year.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders, paying a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, or $4.80 annualized, for a yield of about 1.9%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 51.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,958 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 7,421 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $705,502,000 after buying an additional 209,597 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,898,000 after acquiring an additional 10,634 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $954,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 359.0% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,319,000 after acquiring an additional 11,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,249,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total transaction of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,453,629.80. This represents a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $259.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $130.78 and a 12-month high of $265.61. The business's 50 day moving average is $246.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.36. The company has a market capitalization of $76.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $245.59.

About Valero Energy

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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