HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 131,823 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 15,653 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $22,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLO. DSG Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 1.6% during the third quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,786 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Valero Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,381 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Valero Energy by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 17.0% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 476 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VLO. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a research note on Monday, November 10th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.67.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $199.60 on Thursday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $99.00 and a 52 week high of $206.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $60.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.86 and a 200-day moving average of $168.69.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 12.34% and a net margin of 1.91%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 62.83%.

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.