Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Sold by Sierra Summit Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Sierra Summit Advisors LLC sharply cut its Valero Energy stake by 96.6% in Q1, selling 35,159 shares and leaving it with 1,219 shares worth about $301,000.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.22 topping estimates by $1.06 and revenue of $32.38 billion exceeding expectations; revenue rose 7% year over year.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders, having paid a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share for an annualized yield of about 1.8%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy overall.

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 96.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,219 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 35,159 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Price Performance

VLO opened at $267.99 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $130.78 and a 1 year high of $274.92. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $249.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VLO shares. 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.59.

Valero Energy 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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