Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Sells 944 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 16.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,735 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 944 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 198.8% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 11,047 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth $15,945,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,586 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 5,209 shares during the last quarter. Bollard Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 58,968 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,666,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,167 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,302,000 after acquiring an additional 6,332 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $135.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.20 billion, a PE ratio of 6.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.40. 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $145.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released 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. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VLO. StockNews.com lowered shares of 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 for the company in a research note 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. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.07.

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.