Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Lido Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Lido Advisors LLC cut its stake in Valero Energy by 27.6% in the first quarter, selling 32,601 shares and leaving it with 85,463 shares worth about $21.1 million.
• Insider selling also occurred, with SVP Eric A. Fisher selling 7,500 shares for about $2.0 million, reducing his holdings by 27.5%.
• Valero recently posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue expectations, while analysts have mostly turned bullish with multiple price-target hikes and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Lido Advisors LLC reduced its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 27.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,463 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 32,601 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $21,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after purchasing an additional 163,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,945,500,000 after buying an additional 63,919 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,285,161 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $534,791,000 after buying an additional 17,336 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Key Valero Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Valero Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Valero Energy (VLO) from $286 to $357 and kept a Buy rating, signaling meaningful upside versus the current share price.
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler reaffirmed an Overweight rating and lifted its target to $329, also pointing to additional upside for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Valero as a strong momentum stock and a favorable pick versus Cenovus, which may be helping investor sentiment ahead of next week’s earnings report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect earnings growth in Valero’s upcoming report, but one preview noted the setup does not look ideal for a likely earnings beat, suggesting expectations are already fairly balanced. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader energy-market headlines, including refinery and crude-flow shifts, may affect VLO’s operating backdrop, but they do not directly change Valero’s outlook on their own.

Valero Energy Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $304.63 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $130.78 and a 1 year high of $320.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. Valero Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 32.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Valero Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $266.71.

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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