Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Lowers Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 18.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 384,986 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 86,483 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.12% of Valero Energy worth $65,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Valero Energy by 17.4% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 160,794 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,377,000 after purchasing an additional 23,859 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 161,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $21,770,000 after buying an additional 21,997 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $339,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 104,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,853,000 after acquiring an additional 8,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,669,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,352,787.92. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (up from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Valero Energy from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Valero Energy from $223.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.00.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $188.21 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $174.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $193.33. The company has a market cap of $57.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.77.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The company had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.36%.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.