Argent Trust Co Sells 904 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Argent Trust Co lowered its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,551 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 904 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $266,040,000 after purchasing an additional 426,093 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 721.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 337,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $43,927,000 after buying an additional 296,771 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,319,436 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $677,007,000 after acquiring an additional 237,347 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,517,000. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in Valero Energy by 124.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 291,856 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $45,751,000 after acquiring an additional 161,982 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on VLO. Barclays lowered their price objective on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Valero Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.36.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $136.76 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

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.