Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Invst LLC

Key Points

• Invst LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation by 79.5%, now holding 1,792 shares valued at $237,000.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Price T Rowe Associates, have increased their holdings in Valero Energy, reflecting strong interest as institutional ownership now stands at 78.69%.
• Valero Energy recently reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues of $29.89 billion, despite a year-over-year decline.

Invst LLC decreased its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 79.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,792 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 6,940 shares during the period. Invst LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 12.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,881,222 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,135,043,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155,522 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 6.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,437,765 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,510,586,000 after buying an additional 736,533 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 276.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,795,436 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,425,754,000 after buying an additional 7,931,018 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 34.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,905,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $647,823,000 after buying an additional 1,247,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $529,864,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. TD Cowen lowered Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.87.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO stock opened at $156.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $145.24 and a 200-day moving average of $132.89. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $163.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $48.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.33, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $29.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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