Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Stock Sold by Elevated Capital Advisors LLC

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 87.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,105 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VLO. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in 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 worth $1,243,630,000 after buying an additional 516,975 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,969,320 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $733,660,000 after acquiring an additional 254,604 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,842,339 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $702,285,000 after acquiring an additional 442,177 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Valero Energy by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,584,976 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $638,695,000 after purchasing an additional 806,018 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,058,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $536,074,000 after purchasing an additional 520,642 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $364.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $399.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $292.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $159.90 and a 12 month high of $461.52.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The oil and gas company reported $23.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $21.17 by $2.73. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 45.90% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $46.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 43.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 58.33 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, December 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.80%.

Key Stories Impacting Valero Energy

Investors following VLO have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: The board affirmed Valero’s regular $1.20-per-share quarterly dividend, payable December 21 to shareholders of record November 24. The article also points to discounted heavy crude, favorable freight rates, and renewable-fuels operations as potential business supports. Article: How Investors May Respond to Valero Energy Dividend Affirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: A MarketWatch report said VLO underperformed competitors on Tuesday, a relative-performance note that may weigh on sentiment but does not identify a new company-specific development. Article: Valero Energy Stock Underperforms Tuesday Compared with Competitors
• Negative Sentiment: Jim Cramer advised investors to sell, arguing that Valero’s refining-cycle rally may be over and that margins could normalize further. This is a caution about the cycle and profit-taking, rather than a reported change in Valero’s operations. Article: Cramer Recommends Selling Valero Energy Stock

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $395.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Valero Energy from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Valero Energy from $441.00 to $443.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.32.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is an international refiner and producer of transportation fuels and other petroleum products, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its refining business processes crude oil and other feedstocks into products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and petrochemical feedstocks. The company markets and distributes fuels to wholesale customers and through branded distribution networks. Its refining operations span the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with products serving customers in North America and other markets.