J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 24.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,787 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 888 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter worth about $33,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $135.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $44.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.73, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.37. Valero Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $119.88 and a 1 year high of $184.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued 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 business had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.36.

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.