Commerce Bank Sells 1,866 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Commerce Bank decreased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,942 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,866 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valero Energy Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:VLO opened at $349.27 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $352.70. The company has a market cap of $100.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $292.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.21.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VLO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.00.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.