Patton Fund Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Patton Fund Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 64.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,628 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 26,891 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $3,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,959,065,000 after buying an additional 163,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after buying an additional 63,919 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after acquiring an additional 394,693 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,143,672 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $705,502,000 after acquiring an additional 209,597 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total value of $1,776,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,242 shares in the company, valued at $6,453,629.80. This trade represents a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $259.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $76.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $130.78 and a 52-week high of $265.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $255.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.59.

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.