Auxier Asset Management Sells 777 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Auxier Asset Management trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,176 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 777 shares during the quarter. Valero Energy accounts for approximately 1.5% of Auxier Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $9,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 37.6% in the first 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 last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Valero Energy by 5.8% during the second 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 buying an additional 237,347 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $39,517,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 20.5% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,145,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $179,490,000 after acquiring an additional 194,974 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VLO shares. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.07.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

VLO opened at $134.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.66, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $119.88 and a fifty-two week high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $145.42 and a 200 day moving average of $155.06.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

About Valero Energy

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.