Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Stake in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 2.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 76,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $20,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VLO. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,670 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. now owns 916 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in Valero Energy by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Valero Energy by 1.1% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 4,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of VLO opened at $341.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $135.01 and a twelve month high of $346.09. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.97.

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

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.92%.

Insider Transactions at Valero Energy

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $286.00 to $357.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.