Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Stake Cut by Canal Insurance CO

Key Points

• Canal Insurance CO cut its Valero Energy stake by 50% in the first quarter, selling 10,000 shares and leaving it with 10,000 shares worth about $2.47 million.
• Valero reported stronger-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $4.22 versus the $3.16 estimate and revenue of $32.38 billion, up 7% year over year.
• Insider selling and mixed analyst views were also notable: SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $250.53.

Canal Insurance CO lessened its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 50.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Canal Insurance CO's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business'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 directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $295.96 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $254.22 and a two-hundred 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. The company has a market capitalization of $87.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $130.78 and a 1-year high of $297.66.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 31.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VLO. Weiss Ratings downgraded Valero Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research cut Valero Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, June 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $276.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $250.53.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.