Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 18,013 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.07% of Valero Energy worth $33,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLO. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VLO. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.07.

Valero Energy Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of VLO stock opened at $134.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.40. Valero Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $119.88 and a twelve month high of $184.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $145.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.13. 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 (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

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