Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases 11,961 Shares of Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA increased its stake in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 18.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 76,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 11,961 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $17,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,111,542,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $275,239,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 2,635.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 950,527 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,736,000 after purchasing an additional 915,782 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,696,811 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $276,224,000 after purchasing an additional 560,116 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after buying an additional 394,693 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on VLO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Mizuho increased their target price on Valero Energy from $222.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $236.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $220.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.59.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VLO opened at $259.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.36. The firm has a market cap of $76.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a one year low of $130.78 and a one year high of $265.61.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $1.06. The business had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 3.37%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 27.45 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of Valero Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.90, for a total value of $1,776,750.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,453,629.80. The trade was a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.