Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 2,013 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,013 shares during the period. Valero Energy makes up approximately 4.0% of Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $13,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 157.0% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 203 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on VLO shares. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective 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. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valero Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.59.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO traded down $3.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $266.93. The company had a trading volume of 504,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,501,487. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $130.78 and a one year high of $274.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $249.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.00. The firm has a market cap of $79.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Valero Energy’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,294,212.14. The trade was a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.