Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 27,833 Shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lowered its stake in shares of Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 26.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,630 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 27,833 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Valero Energy were worth $10,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Valero Energy by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,543 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Valero Energy by 5.5% during the second quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,366 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 1.4% during the second quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Valero Energy from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Valero Energy from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Valero Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $172.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $177.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $173.00 to $141.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.29.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $136.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $43.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.39. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $136.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.77. Valero Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $119.88 and a 1-year high of $184.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $32.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Valero Energy Co. will post 9.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Valero Energy's payout ratio is presently 38.39%.

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.