Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Decreases Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc trimmed its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,889 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 16,983 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc owned approximately 0.05% of Valero Energy worth $27,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Valero Energy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $255,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 9.9% in the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 2,058 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 9.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 44,378 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,965,000 after buying an additional 3,845 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $181.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank began coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In related news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE VLO opened at $183.35 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $192.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. The company has a market capitalization of $55.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.98.

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

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 94.36%.

Valero Energy 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.