Phoenix Financial Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,680 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,302 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 18.5% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 22,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,959,000 after purchasing an additional 3,503 shares during the last quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,198 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,668,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 178,293 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $21,857,000 after buying an additional 5,203 shares during the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 64,793 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,585,000 after buying an additional 9,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1,930.4% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 113,603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,927,000 after purchasing an additional 108,008 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE VLO opened at $142.03 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $167.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.48 billion, a PE ratio of 59.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $29.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 5.74% and a net margin of 0.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 159.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Wolfe Research cut Valero Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. TD Cowen cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $118.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank cut their price target on Valero Energy from $156.00 to $136.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $134.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.87.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.