O Brien Greene & Co. Inc Sells 1,945 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

O Brien Greene & Co. Inc lessened its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,950 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,945 shares during the period. Valero Energy makes up about 2.2% of O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $6,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 156.6% in the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 213 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1,277.8% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $177.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $166.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $216.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target (up from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.27.

Valero Energy Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of VLO opened at $176.28 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $99.00 and a 1-year high of $179.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $163.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The business’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.36%.

About Valero Energy

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.