Kovack Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 44.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,459 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,182 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its position in Valero Energy by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 4,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,005,346 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $142,468,000 after acquiring an additional 55,351 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 7,615 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $991,000 after acquiring an additional 2,529 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 198.8% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 11,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,788,994 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $362,569,000 after acquiring an additional 342,218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of VLO opened at $158.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $112.16 and a 12-month high of $184.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $156.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.64. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 24.82%. The firm had revenue of $31.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.27 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 16.09 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 30th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $130.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $184.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $113,846.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,105,209.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.