ETRADE Capital Management LLC Sells 5,934 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

ETRADE Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 36.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,555 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,934 shares during the quarter. ETRADE Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VLO. Dowling & Yahnke LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Dowling & Yahnke LLC now owns 3,764 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Sullivan Bruyette Speros & Blaney LLC boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Sullivan Bruyette Speros & Blaney LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,722 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc increased its stake in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc now owns 18,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. 75.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

In other Valero Energy news, Director Randall J. Weisenburger acquired 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $47.31 per share, with a total value of $2,128,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 100,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,743,962.94. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Shares of VLO stock opened at $65.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.99 and a 200-day moving average of $76.01. Valero Energy Co. has a one year low of $31.00 and a one year high of $101.99. The company has a market cap of $26.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 1.96.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.49. Valero Energy had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The business had revenue of $22.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is 68.77%.

A number of analysts recently commented on VLO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Valero Energy from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Argus lowered their target price on Valero Energy from $110.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.50.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation operates as an independent petroleum refining and ethanol producing company in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Ethanol, and VLP (Valero Energy Partners LP). The company is involved in oil and gas refining, marketing, and bulk selling activities.

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