Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Stock Position Decreased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Valero Energy by 20.3%, holding 104,715 shares after selling 26,620 shares in the second quarter.
• Valero Energy reported $2.28 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.66, despite experiencing a 13.3% decrease in quarterly revenue compared to the same period last year.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Valero Energy, with Piper Sandler increasing its target to $200.00 and Mizuho to $190.00, indicating a positive outlook on the company's performance.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,715 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 26,620 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $15,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 1.4% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 5,541 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,812 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 7,764 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Valero Energy by 2.2% in the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,798 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.6% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on VLO shares. Raymond James Financial upped 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 report on Tuesday, September 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen downgraded Valero Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho raised their price target on Valero Energy from $166.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $165.00.

Valero Energy Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE VLO traded up $3.90 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $166.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,612,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,796,160. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $146.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.14. The company has a market capitalization of $51.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.38, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.10. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $167.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.76% and a net margin of 0.62%.The firm's revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Valero Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 188.33%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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.