Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) Shares Sold by MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 15.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,941 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,273 shares during the quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VLO. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 196,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,514,000 after buying an additional 10,143 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $267,000. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 29,257 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,803,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 18,805 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $171.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. 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 report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Valero Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $177.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.07.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $135.97 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.56 billion, a PE ratio of 6.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.40.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Co. will post 10.77 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

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.