Valero Energy Corporation $VLO Shares Bought by Sierra Summit Advisors LLC

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 2,325.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,378 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,878 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $5,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VLO. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,747 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $528,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 269,043 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,165,000 after acquiring an additional 27,291 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Valero Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 145,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $19,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the period. 78.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valero Energy Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $254.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.58. Valero Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $125.10 and a twelve month high of $263.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $241.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $1.06. Valero Energy had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $32.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. Valero Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 28.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Valero Energy from $203.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $246.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $182.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total value of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.