Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Has $374,000 Stock Holdings in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,049 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.7% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,786 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Valero Energy by 82.6% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 1.5% in the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 6,960 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 4.6% in the second quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 14,891 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 26.2% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 80,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,543,000 after buying an additional 16,654 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Valero Energy from $192.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.57.

Valero Energy Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE:VLO opened at $138.10 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.10 and its 200-day moving average is $138.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $116.84 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The firm has a market cap of $43.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.42.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.16. Valero Energy had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 13.07%. The firm had revenue of $32.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Co. will post 8.86 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

Valero Energy Profile

Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.