Leonteq Securities AG Sells 12,119 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Leonteq Securities AG decreased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 75.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 12,119 shares during the quarter. Leonteq Securities AG’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 157.0% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 203 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on VLO shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.59.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of VLO opened at $267.99 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.63. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $130.78 and a 52-week high of $274.92. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $79.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results 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. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

About Valero Energy

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.