Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Has $1.09 Million Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lessened its position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 14.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,334 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,584 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VLO. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 96.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,389,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,310,740,000 after purchasing an additional 4,604,158 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $534,892,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $108,341,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 457.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,359,392 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 33,083.3% during the 1st quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 1,028,681 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $143,603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025,581 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.07% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:VLO traded down $3.00 on Tuesday, hitting $143.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,869,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,116,143. Valero Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $97.73 and a 52 week high of $150.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $129.60 and its 200 day moving average is $123.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $50.60 billion, a PE ratio of 4.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.66.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The oil and gas company reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.32. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 42.31% and a net margin of 6.96%. The firm had revenue of $34.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $11.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 24.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 2nd. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 14.05%.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, Director Joseph W. Gorder sold 75,580 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.99, for a total transaction of $10,278,124.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 621,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,568,373.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VLO. Tudor Pickering upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Mizuho upped their target price on Valero Energy from $162.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Valero Energy from $150.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $152.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.00.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. The company produces California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending and Conventional Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gasolines, CARB diesel, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt; aromatics; and sulfur crude oils.