Heritage Trust Co Raises Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Heritage Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,723 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,484 shares during the period. Heritage Trust Co’s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $2,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. AXS Investments LLC purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in Valero Energy by 194.4% during the fourth quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 212 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

Shares of Valero Energy stock opened at $252.78 on Tuesday. Valero Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $125.10 and a 52-week high of $263.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $243.02 and a 200-day moving average of $207.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $4.22 EPS 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 company had revenue of $32.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 26.51 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.60, for a total transaction of $95,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on VLO shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $215.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $178.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Valero Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

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.