Washington Trust Bank Cuts Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Washington Trust Bank cut its Valero Energy stake by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,872 shares and ending with 33,059 shares worth about $5.38 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on VLO, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.94, though opinions are mixed across brokerages.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results and a dividend, posting EPS of $4.22 versus $3.16 expected and revenue growth of 7% year over year, while also announcing a $1.20 quarterly dividend payable June 23.

Washington Trust Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 35.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,059 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 17,872 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 54,771 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,916,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Fusion Capital LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Fusion Capital LLC now owns 45,612 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,425,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 44,146 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $7,187,000 after buying an additional 2,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centric Wealth Management bought a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $505,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on VLO. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $203.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total transaction of $1,892,331.59. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares in the company, valued at $9,618,080.98. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Valero Energy Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $247.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business's 50 day moving average price is $236.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.72. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $125.10 and a fifty-two week high of $258.43. The company has a market cap of $73.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.58.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

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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