Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 2,118 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Wesbanco Bank Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 15.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,851 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,118 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $705,502,000 after purchasing an additional 209,597 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 42,376 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,898,000 after purchasing an additional 10,634 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $954,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 359.0% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 14,243 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,319,000 after buying an additional 11,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total transaction of $1,776,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,453,629.80. This trade represents a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on VLO. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research downgraded Valero Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.59.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $259.05 on Friday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $130.78 and a 12-month high of $265.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $246.28 and a 200-day moving average of $217.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $76.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

About Valero Energy

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.