Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 29,929 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 17.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 136,939 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 29,929 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $35,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Valero Energy in the second quarter worth $528,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 11.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,165,000 after buying an additional 27,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,600,000 after buying an additional 1,338 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE VLO opened at $349.27 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $292.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $254.21. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $352.70. The firm has a market cap of $100.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $329.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

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.