Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) SVP Eric Fisher Sells 7,500 Shares

Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) SVP Eric Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $260.62 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.91. The stock has a market cap of $77.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $130.78 and a twelve month high of $272.17.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valero Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VLO. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,959,065,000 after purchasing an additional 163,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after buying an additional 63,919 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after acquiring an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,243,630,000 after acquiring an additional 516,975 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VLO. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Valero Energy from $184.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research lowered Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.53.

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.