Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 11.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,235 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 10,241 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $18,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. State Street Corp lifted its position in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,065,000 after acquiring an additional 163,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $1,945,500,000 after acquiring an additional 63,919 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,285,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $534,791,000 after purchasing an additional 17,336 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $267.99 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. 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.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $261.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research cut Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Valero Energy from $276.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.