Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Raises Position in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO) by 18.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,276 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valero Energy news, Director Kimberly S. Greene sold 720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $113,846.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,105,209.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on VLO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $160.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho raised shares of Valero Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.00.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VLO traded down $0.92 on Monday, reaching $147.64. 2,676,775 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,068,927. The firm has a market cap of $48.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $153.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 4.25%. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a $1.07 dividend. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Valero Energy Company 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.