First National Corp MA ADV Decreases Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

First National Corp MA ADV lessened its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 18.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,828 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 864 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $266,040,000 after acquiring an additional 426,093 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of 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. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 17.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,550,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $238,841,000 after buying an additional 232,494 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in Valero Energy in the first quarter worth about $39,517,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 194,974 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $149.00 to $131.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $172.00 to $151.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.73.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $135.75. 339,666 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,014,964. The company has a market cap of $44.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.39. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $119.88 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $141.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.