Sigma Planning Corp Has $1.86 Million Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Sigma Planning Corp cut its holdings in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 45.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,142 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 6,013 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $1,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during 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. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. 78.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Valero Energy Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of VLO stock opened at $359.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $305.88 and a 200-day moving average of $260.60. The stock has a market cap of $103.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $150.10 and a 52-week high of $362.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The business had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $292.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.00.

About Valero Energy

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.