Axa S.A. Decreases Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Axa S.A. reduced its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 24.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 191,464 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 62,022 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $30,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $33,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Valero Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $169.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $172.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.07.

Valero Energy Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of VLO opened at $136.62 on Friday. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $119.88 and a 1-year high of $184.79. The company has a market capitalization of $43.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.40. 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 simple moving average is $144.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.84.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

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.