Quantitative Investment Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,525,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 134.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, AXS Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

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

Valero Energy Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE VLO opened at $359.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $103.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $305.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $150.10 and a 52-week high of $362.79.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. Valero Energy had a net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 26.74%. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VLO shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Valero Energy from $280.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Valero Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.00.

Valero Energy Company 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.