Castleark Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Castleark Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 62.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,560 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 5,850 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the second quarter valued at $26,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Valero Energy by 1,277.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 248 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Kiker Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valero Energy by 466.1% during the second quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC now owns 334 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total transaction of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on VLO. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Valero Energy from $201.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (up previously from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Valero Energy from $169.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.20.

Valero Energy Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:VLO opened at $168.25 on Monday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $99.00 and a 12-month high of $185.62. The firm has a market cap of $51.32 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $171.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.68.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.Valero Energy’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Valero Energy Corporation will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.36%.

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.