MRP Capital Investments LLC Trims Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

MRP Capital Investments LLC lessened its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,949 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,225 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Waddell & Associates LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 2.8% during the third quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Valero Energy by 1.6% in the third quarter. DSG Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group boosted its position in Valero Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,786 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Valero Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,381 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Becker Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,837 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,015,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $238.73 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $201.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.60. Valero Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $99.00 and a 1 year high of $242.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Valero Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.20.

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.