Spire Wealth Management Sells 1,022 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Spire Wealth Management reduced its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 49.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,035 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,022 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $131,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 19.1% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 632,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $83,563,000 after purchasing an additional 11,506 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 26.1% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 12.7% during the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 4,391 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $216.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upgraded Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $152.00 to $179.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $151.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.27.

Valero Energy Trading Down 1.6%

VLO opened at $168.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.05. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $99.00 and a 12 month high of $178.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $162.99 and a 200 day moving average of $144.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.36%.

Valero Energy Company 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.