Commonwealth Financial Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC reduced its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VLO. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 37.6% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 426,093 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Valero Energy by 721.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 337,911 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $43,927,000 after acquiring an additional 296,771 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 worth $677,007,000 after acquiring an additional 237,347 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,517,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,145,117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $179,490,000 after purchasing an additional 194,974 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Mizuho lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com lowered Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on 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, Scotiabank increased their price objective 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.07.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO stock opened at $134.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $145.42 and a 200 day moving average of $155.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.97 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 52 week low of $119.88 and a 52 week high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced 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. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Valero Energy Company 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.