Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 71.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,323 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VLO. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,177,191 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,959,065,000 after buying an additional 163,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Valero Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,950,982 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,945,500,000 after acquiring an additional 63,919 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,111,542,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,668,210 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $922,728,000 after acquiring an additional 394,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 11.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,033,310 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,243,630,000 after acquiring an additional 516,975 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

In other Valero Energy news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total transaction of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VLO shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE VLO opened at $341.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $283.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.97. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $135.01 and a twelve month high of $346.09. The company has a market capitalization of $98.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Valero Energy Profile

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.