Cambria Investment Management L.P. Decreases Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Cambria Investment Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 6.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 60,037 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,120 shares during the quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 29.9% during the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 14.9% in the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 93,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $12,630,000 after buying an additional 12,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 4.7% in the second quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 151,451 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $20,358,000 after buying an additional 6,857 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 8,311 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.69, for a total value of $1,892,331.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,618,080.98. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on VLO shares. Argus upgraded shares of Valero Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $190.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.20.

Valero Energy Stock Up 1.2%

Valero Energy stock opened at $238.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.64. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $242.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.70.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The oil and gas company reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.55. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $30.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. Valero Energy’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.